Credit Score - Knoxville TVA Employees Credit Union

Take Control of Your Credit Score ¹

Now you can see your credit score daily and get tips on how to maintain or improve it! Log in to online banking or the mobile app and look for Credit Score to get started!

With Credit Score you will get:

Free credit score for Members
Free credit monitoring service
Personalized credit report card

Get unlimited access to Credit Score, anytime and anywhere, by logging in to online banking or using the KTVAECU mobile app!

What is a Credit Score?

In its simplest form, a credit score is like a report card on how well you can pay back a loan.

Why is a Credit Score Important?

Credit scores are important because they affect your financial options when making many life choices. Not only does your credit score affect your ability to open loans and services, but it also affects what extra benefits you receive. Your credit score can impact your interest rates, determine how large your line of credit can be, give you more home buying options, and even lower your insurance premiums. Your credit score also affects your ability to:

Rent or buy a home
Get approved for a loan and get a low-interest rate
Open utility accounts
Start a phone plan with minimum down payments
Find an employer

Get your Credit Score!

Luckily, increasing or maintaining your credit score only requires a little bit of research about where the score comes from. Your credit score is impacted by several factors.

CREDIT HISTORY

Credit history can make up to 15% of your credit score. This includes the age of your oldest account, youngest account, and average age of all your accounts. The longer your credit history, the higher your score. Because of this, it is important to get a head-start on your credit history as soon as possible.

PAYMENT HISTORY

Payment history has the largest overall impact on your credit score. Whenever lenders are deciding whether to give you a loan, they look to see if you make your payments and if you make them on time.

Credit Variety

The diversity of your credit portfolio can account for up to 10% of your credit score. It's important to have various types of credit accounts, including auto loans, student loans, mortgages, credit cards, and more!

Credit Utilization

How you manage your credit accounts once you obtain them is a significant factor in determining your credit score. For revolving credit accounts, such as credit cards, aim to use less than 30% of your available credit at any given time.

Credit Monitoring

It is essential to regularly monitor your credit score to understand your current standing and identify areas for improvement. That’s why we have made it easier than ever for our Members to check their credit score for FREE!

New Credit and Hard Inquiries

The amount of new credit accounts is a factor on your credit, and it also brings the average age of your credit accounts down.

Hard inquiries occur when you apply for a loan or line of credit, and the lender requests to look at your official credit report. Hard inquiries only affect your credit for a few months, but they stay on your credit report for up to two years. This is why it is important to keep hard inquiries to a minimum when possible.

Monitor Your Credit Score

It is important to monitor your credit score frequently to know where you stand and where you have room to improve. That’s why we have made it easier than ever for our Members to check their credit score for FREE! Log in to online banking to see your credit score today!

Take Control of Your Finances With a Financial Checkup!

The assessment takes only five to ten minutes to complete, and you receive your results immediately.

Your Financial Checkup results will include a budget breakdown, a review of your credit score, an overall financial wellness score, a debt-to-income analysis, a spending ratio, and more. Check back periodically to update your answers and get a fresh assessment! To complete your Financial Checkup:

Log in to Online Banking or the Mobile App
Select Credit Score in the Menu
Click Financial Checkup
Select Take Assessment
Take the assessment and get your Financial Checkup

Tip: For the best and most accurate results, fill out all the questions with accurate information about your income, savings, expenses, financial goals, and more.

GET THE MOBILE APP

Credit Score Ticker

Credit Score Goals

Set your goal, get action steps, and track your progress to improve your score!

Select your desired score and a 6, 12, 18, or 24-month timeframe. Credit Score will track your progress and show personalized recommendations to help reach your goal.

To start the journey to your credit score goal:

Select Credit Score in the Menu.
Select Goals.
Tap or click Set Up Your Goal.
Use the sliders to set your credit score goal and the amount of time you’d like to reach it.
Select Next

Build Your Credit

If your credit score is not quite where you want it to be, we offer a few products to help you build or rebuild it!

Credit Builder Loan ²

Our Credit Builder Loan lets you borrow up to $3,000.00. The borrowed amount is set aside in a secured savings account while you pay off the loan. As you make each monthly payment towards your loan, the payment amount minus the interest charged, becomes available to you in your account. We report these payments to the credit bureaus, which helps build your score!

LEARN MORE ABOUT CREDIT BUILDER LOANS

Secured Personal Loan ³

With our Secured Loans, you pledge a matching amount of funds in your account. We put these funds on hold and give them back to you in the form of a loan. As you pay off your loan, the funds (minus interest) become available in your account. These payments are also reported to the credit bureaus.

LEARN MORE ABOUT SECURED LOANS

Visa^® Platinum Credit Card ⁴

The KTVAECU Visa Platinum Credit Card is a great way to build credit!

NO annual fee ⁵
NO balance transfer fee ⁵
$1.00 cash advance fee ⁵
Earns uChoose Rewards^® Points

*See card terms and conditions.

LEARN MORE ABOUT CREDIT CARDS

Share Secured Visa^® Platinum Credit Card ⁴

If you are a first-time cardholder, our Share Secured Visa Platinum Credit Card is an excellent way to establish your credit! A Share Secured Visa Credit Card is secured by money already in your Credit Union account (deposit must be 110% of the card limit), and just like a Secured Loan, your payments will be reported to the credit bureaus.

LEARN MORE ABOUT CREDIT CARDS

Disclosures

¹ Some restrictions may apply. Ask for details. Message and data rates may apply from your wireless carrier. Credit Score does not apply to business accounts.

² APR = Annual Percentage Rate. Terms up to 36 months. Minimum payment $25.00 per month. Rates subject to change. Rate can change after consummation. Membership must be 90 days or older to qualify. Some restrictions may apply. Ask for details. Payment example for Regular Share Account: 36 monthly payments at 2.10% APR is $28.69 monthly payment per $1,000.00 borrowed.

³ APR = Annual Percentage Rate. The APR may increase or decrease during the term of this loan based on the changes in an interest rate index. The index is the dividend rate or current earnings rate paid on the account on the date of the advance plus 2.00%, up to the maximum APR of 18.00% or the maximum rate allowed by the law. Any increase in APR will result in more payments. Rate subject to change. Rate can change after consummation. Payment per $1,000.00 is for example purposes.

⁴ Available to qualifying Members. Rate subject to change without notice and based on creditworthiness. Some restrictions may apply. Ask for details. View credit card disclosure at tvacreditunion.com/credit-card-disclosure.

⁵ APR = Annual Percentage Rate. Rate subject to change without notice and based on creditworthiness. Available to qualifying Members. Some restrictions may apply. Ask for details. View credit card disclosure at tvacreditunion.com/credit-card-disclosure.