Of all the factors affecting your credit score, payment history is the most influential, followed by credit utilization. Payment history reflects whether you pay your obligations on time. Consistently making on-time payments demonstrates reliability and reduces the lender’s perception of risk. In contrast, missed or late payments can damage your score significantly, even if you have strong utilization.

Credit scores are used by lenders to make decisions about loans, mortgages, and even rental applications. Because payment history weighs so heavily, even one mistake can be costly. Unlike utilization, which can be improved quickly by paying down balances, payment history requires consistent, long-term good behavior. For that reason, financial experts stress the importance of never missing a due date and making payments reliably over time.