What Is a Good Credit Age?

An average credit age of five years or more is generally considered good, while an average age of around 10 years represents a long and well-established credit history. However, these are practical guidelines rather than official thresholds used by every lender or credit-scoring model.

You can still have a good credit score with a shorter history if you consistently pay on time, maintain low balances and avoid applying for too many accounts. Credit age is only one part of your overall credit profile.

What Does Credit Age Mean?

Credit age refers to how long the accounts on your credit report have existed. It is sometimes called the length of your credit history.

Credit-scoring models may consider several measurements, including:

• The age of your oldest credit account

• The age of your newest account

• The average age of all your accounts

• How long particular types of credit have been open

The exact formulas used to calculate credit scores are not publicly available, and different lenders may use different scoring models.

Credit age does not refer to your physical age. Someone who is 40 years old but opened their first credit card last year may have a younger credit history than a 25-year-old who has managed credit since turning 18.

How Is Your Average Credit Age Calculated?

Your average credit age is calculated by adding the ages of your credit accounts and dividing the total by the number of accounts.

For example, suppose you have:

• One credit card that is eight years old

• One line of credit that is four years old

• One loan that is three years old

The total age of the accounts is 15 years. Dividing that by three accounts gives you an average credit age of five years.

Opening a new account would reduce the average. If you added a brand-new credit card, the total age would still be 15 years, but it would be divided across four accounts. Your average credit age would fall to approximately three years and nine months.

This does not mean you should never open another account. It simply explains why opening several accounts within a short period can temporarily weaken the age-related part of your credit profile.

What Is Considered a Good Credit Age?

There is no official credit age at which Equifax, TransUnion or every lender automatically considers your history good.

As a practical reference:

• Less than one year is a very new credit history

• One to five years shows that your history is developing

• Five years or more is generally considered a good average age

• Ten years or more represents a long credit history

These ranges are not formal credit-score categories. A five-year history does not guarantee a high score, and a one-year history does not automatically mean you have poor credit.

Your payment history, credit utilization, debt, recent applications and account standing can matter just as much or more. A person with one year of perfect payments may have a healthier credit profile than someone with 15 years of credit and several overdue accounts.

Why Does Credit Age Matter?

A longer credit history gives lenders more information about how you manage borrowed money.

Someone who has made payments reliably for several years has demonstrated their behaviour across a longer period. A person with only a few months of credit activity may be managing their account well, but lenders have less information on which to base their decision.

Credit age can affect your score, but it cannot compensate for missed payments or excessive debt. A long account history is most valuable when the accounts have been managed responsibly.

Is the Age of Your Oldest Account or Average Age More Important?

Both may matter.

Your oldest account shows how long you have been managing credit. Your average account age reflects the overall maturity of your credit profile.

For example, you could have one 15-year-old credit card but five accounts opened within the past year. Your oldest account would show a long history, but your average age would still be relatively low.

Alternatively, you could have three accounts that are each five or six years old. Your oldest account would not be as old, but your overall file would show a more consistently established history.

Credit-scoring models may evaluate your oldest, newest and average account ages differently. The exact importance of each measurement depends on the model being used.

Can You Have Good Credit With a Short Credit Age?

Yes. A short credit age does not prevent you from having a good score.

Establishing a more developed history takes longer, but you do not necessarily need five or 10 years before your credit can be considered healthy.

A newer credit user can build a positive profile by:

• Paying every account on time

• Keeping credit card balances low

• Avoiding unnecessary applications

• Paying more than the minimum amount

• Keeping accounts in good standing

• Enrolling in a Credit Builder Program

A lender may still consider a short credit file less established, particularly for a large loan. However, responsible account management can help offset some of the limitations of a younger history.

Does Opening a New Account Hurt Your Credit Age?

Opening a new account reduces the average age of your credit accounts. It may also create a hard inquiry and add a recently opened account to your report.

This does not mean opening new credit is always harmful. A new card could increase your total available credit, potentially helping your credit utilization if you keep your spending under control.

The effect depends on the rest of your profile. One new account may have a limited effect on someone with several older accounts. The same account may have a more noticeable effect on someone with a thin or newly established credit history.

Applying for several accounts at once can have a greater effect because it adds multiple new accounts and inquiries within a short period. TransUnion recommends starting slowly rather than applying for numerous credit products at the beginning of your credit-building journey.

Should You Keep Your Oldest Credit Card Open?

Keeping an older credit card open may help preserve your credit history, particularly if it has no annual fee and you can manage it responsibly.

Closing an older account may:

• Reduce your available credit

• Increase your overall credit utilization

• Affect the age-related portion of your credit profile

• Eventually remove older positive history from your report

The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada advises that closing an older account may cause you to lose older credit history and reduce your available credit. Keeping the account open with a zero balance may help maintain your history and utilization rate.

However, you should not keep an account open at any cost. Closing it may make sense when it has a high annual fee, creates a risk of overspending or no longer meets your needs.

Before cancelling an older card, ask the issuer whether it can be switched to a no-fee product while keeping the same account history.

Do Closed Accounts Still Count Toward Your Credit History?

Closed accounts do not necessarily disappear from your credit report immediately.

According to the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, accounts paid in full can stay on an Equifax credit report for up to 10 years after they are closed. TransUnion may retain positive credit information for up to 20 years.

The way a closed account affects a particular credit score depends on the scoring model. Once the account eventually falls off your report, it can no longer contribute to the history shown in that file.

This is one reason closing your oldest account may not cause an immediate dramatic score change, even though it can still affect your available credit and future credit age.

Can You Increase Your Credit Age Faster?

You cannot accelerate the passage of time. The only way to create an older credit history is to keep suitable accounts open and allow them to age.

You can protect the age-related part of your credit profile by:

• Keeping older no-fee accounts open

• Avoiding frequent applications

• Opening new accounts only when they serve a purpose

• Maintaining accounts in good standing

• Using old cards occasionally so the issuer does not close them for inactivity

You should not avoid useful credit simply to protect your average account age. For example, taking out a reasonably priced mortgage or auto loan may be appropriate even though the new account initially lowers your average.

The goal is to build a stable credit profile, not preserve a particular age number at the expense of sensible financial decisions.

How Can You Check Your Credit Age?

Review your credit reports from both Equifax and TransUnion.

Your reports should show information about your credit accounts, including when they were opened and whether they remain active. You can identify your oldest account and estimate your average age using the opening dates shown.

Canadians can access their credit reports online for free from both major credit bureaus. Checking your own report does not count as a hard credit application.

Check both reports because a lender may report an account to one bureau but not the other. As a result, your credit history could appear older or more complete on one report.

A Longer History Helps, but Responsible Use Matters More

An average credit age of approximately five years is generally considered good, and 10 years represents a long credit history. However, there is no universal age requirement for achieving a good credit score.

A long history filled with missed payments and high balances is not stronger than a shorter history managed responsibly.

Focus on keeping suitable accounts open, paying every bill on time and using only a manageable portion of your available credit. Your credit age will improve naturally while those habits build the rest of your credit profile.