By Megan Sayles
AFRO Staff Writer
msayles@afro.com
Credit scores affect everything from interest rates to major purchases, like houses and cars, but the rules that shape them continue to evolve. This week, the AFRO spoke with Bonita Grant, founder and owner of Cure My Credit Score, about changes in 2026 and the smartest strategies to stay on track.
AFRO: What are the most important factors that will determine a person’s credit score in 2026, and have any of these changed in recent years?
Bonita Grant: I’ve noticed in the past that it was a lot easier to pay down your credit card, and then your scores will go up. Right now, payment history— like being on time— is very heavy. It’s heavier than it’s ever been. Before COVID-19, you could just write a letter and things would just melt off. Since COVID, things aren’t melting off by you disputing them online. If you get a 30-day late notice, it’s going to highly impact your score. The score may drop 100 points, and it’s going to highly impact your score for the first three months. If you’re 60 days late, it will highly impact your score for six months.
Making sure that everything is on time is paramount. It is the most important thing you can do to help your credit report.
AFRO: What are the best ways for someone to check their credit report without hurting their score?
BG: There’s apps, like Credit Karma. Or, if you have a credit card or even a bank account, most bank accounts allow you to see your credit score every month. Sometimes they don’t allow you to see your credit report, but at least knowing your score will tell you if there’s something that’s impacted it.
When you pull your own credit, it does not impact your credit score. It’s called a soft pull. A hard pull is when a bank pulls your credit to see if they can approve you for whatever loan product they have or credit card product they have. A hard pull can affect your credit score.
AFRO: What are the most effective strategies for someone looking to improve their credit score?
BG: One of the best ways to boost your scores is by paying down your credit card. We hear that we’re supposed to keep our credit cards at 30 percent utilized. Thirty percent is the maximum they want to be on your credit card. They really want you to be closer to 10 percent of the limit. When you’re at 10 percent of your limit on your credit cards, that’s how you get to, like the 700 and 800 scores. They want you to keep your credit card balances extremely low, and the good number is between one and 10 percent of the limit. They don’t want you to be at zero because it looks like you’re not using the card, and they can’t really score you. .
If you’re trying to buy a house or a car or do anything strategic with your credit, you want to get all your cards down to 10 percent as soon as possible and leave them there.
AFRO: Are there common mistakes or misconceptions people make that actually hurt their credit score more than they realize?
BG: One of the craziest things I’ve heard was the, “waterfall effect,” where you get six credit cards in one day to raise your credit score. Don’t do that, it hurts your credit. The reason why it hurts your credit is because you have all these new inquiries that are showing up. After getting the second credit card, it alerts other banks that you’re doing this.
A lot of times, your limits are also going to be really low. You might get six $300 credit cards, which doesn’t help you at all and damages your average age of file—a big part of your credit score. They take all of your open cards or open accounts, and they average the age. Most people who have 800 credit scores have an average age of file that is older than seven years.
If you have a 10-year old card and a two-year old auto loan, that’s 12 years over two accounts, which gives you an average age of six years. If you do the waterfall effect and get six new cards that show up on your credit report, they’re all one month old. Now you’re taking that 12 years and you’re dividing it over eight accounts. Your average age of six years drops to less than a year old.
