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High scorers charge more, but are more likely to pay on time A new study from credit reporting agency Experian shows that consumers with high credit scores are actually more likely to carry high debt than those with low credit scores. However, these high scorers got their scores by using a smaller percentage of their total available credit and by making payments on time.

The Experian study compared consumers scoring less than 660 against those scoring 720 or greater, using their debt numbers and payment behaviors over the past six months as a guide. Those with high credit scores had over $15,000 in debt and made payments of over $700 per month, versus over $6,600 in debts and monthly payments of $291 for those with lower scores.

However, despite the higher debt and payments, those with higher scores were only using about 18% of the total credit available to them, while those with lower scores were using about 28% of the credit available to them. Perhaps the most glaring difference — and the one most likely to hurt credit scores — was in late payments. Those with lower credit scores made 2.3 late payments in the six-month period. On the other hand, the high scorers averaged just 0.2 late payments.

Published 02/01/06 (Modified 05/07/12)