Learn the mechanics. Then make the move.
Interactive explainers for the parts of the Canadian credit system that actually move your file — utilization, statement timing, score bands, confidence, and recovery. Plain language, real numbers, no shame. Drag the sliders; the math is the same math the app uses.
Utilization
The ratio of what you owe on revolving credit (cards, lines of credit) to what's available. Both bureaus respond favorably to lower utilization — and the response isn't smooth. It changes in tiers.
Pay before the statement closes.
Bureaus see the balance on your statement date — not after you pay. Pay before the statement closes and the bureau reads a low balance. Same money, very different file.
Pay $1,200 on the 19th → bureau reads ~$200 on the 22nd → utilization tier improves before the cycle even closes.
Score bands
Sub-prime · Fair · Good · Very good · Prime. The bands aren't published precisely — these ranges are the working consensus across Canadian bureau scoring. Drag the slider to see what each band typically qualifies for.
- Secured cards
- Credit-builder loans
- Standard unsecured cards
- Higher-rate auto loans
- Most credit cards
- Auto loans at prime+
- Some mortgages
- Rewards cards
- Mortgages at competitive rates
- Premium cards
- Best mortgage rates
- Approval near-certain on file
Confidence bands
Every Credit GPS forecast is a range, never a single number. The band is the honesty: 70% of the time the lift lands inside it, 30% it lands outside. Lower confidence → wider band. Higher confidence → narrower.
Anyone telling you a payment will add "exactly 40 points" is selling you a certainty that doesn't exist. Our bands come from a labelled dataset of (action → bureau-reported outcome) — we widen the band when the evidence is thinner, not when we feel like it.
Move-card generator
Plug in a balance and a limit. Get the move Credit GPS would surface, in the same shape it appears in the app. Illustrative — the real engine reads your statement cycle and looks at every card you have, not just one.
Why your score can be low even when you do everything right.
A flawless file with six months of history and a $1,000 limit can still produce a score in the 600s or low 700s. The model isn't punishing you — it just doesn't have enough evidence yet.
The deterministic path
- Keep the file active — small recurring charges, paid off before statement close.
- Keep utilization low on every reporting cycle. Under 10% on statement date is the goal.
- Add a second tradeline at six to twelve months, then a third around eighteen months.
- Let time accumulate. Average account age is itself the input — there is no shortcut.
Newcomer files typically thicken over 18–36 months of consistent activity. Don't open a loan you don't need just for "credit mix" — mix is a small contribution, and the interest you'd pay almost always exceeds the benefit.
Damage and recovery.
The bureaus apply these clocks automatically. Records don't stay on your file forever, and they fade in influence as they age — even before they drop off entirely.