25 Credit Card Mistakes You’re Probably Making

Mistake No. 17: Underappreciating the power of your credit score

If you find yourself still not caring too much about your credit score, check out this table, which shows some recent sample interest rates from the folks at FICO that borrowers with various credit scores might be offered — and what kind of difference the rate will make in their payments.

If you were borrowing $200,000 via a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, and you had a top FICO score, in the 760 to 850 range, you might get an interest rate of 3.64%, with a monthly payment of $914 and total interest paid over the 30 years of $129,127. If your score was 630, though, your rate would be very different, at 5.23%, with a monthly payment of $1,102 and total interest of $196,829. That’s $188 more per month ($2,256 per year) and a whopping $67,702 more in interest. A high credit score can save you tens of thousands of dollars, and responsible use of credit cards can help keep your score high.