Most people with an 800 credit score have a long credit history, just a little under 22 years. Credit history length does not represent how long you've used credit. Rather, it represents the average age of the open accounts on your credit report. If you close an old credit card, it can shorten your credit history.
While following these guidelines is crucial, it's important to remember that the length of time it takes to reach a 700 credit score varies from person to person. Some individuals may see significant improvements within a few months, while others may take a year or more to achieve their desired score.
Starting from zero, building a credit score takes about three to six months of using credit, says Experian®. But getting an excellent score takes longer. If you're new to credit, it might take six months to a year to hit a respectable score of around 700 with FICO® or VantageScore® models.
A good FICO score is 670 to 739, according to the company's website. FICO says scores of 580 to 669 are considered "fair" and 740 to 799 are considered "very good." Anything at 800 or above is considered "exceptional."
Even better, just over 1 in 5 people (21.2%) have an exceptional FICO credit score of 800 or above, all but guaranteeing access to the best products and interest rates.
About 70% of all mortgages are conventional loans, making it the most common type of mortgage. A FICO score of 620 or better is typically required for a conventional loan and, if your score is 760 or higher, you should qualify for the best interest rates.
So it's possible to raise your credit fast. Getting to a 750 score is no small feat. It takes a consistent payment strategy, years of maintaining accounts, and watching your credit report like a hawk. Keeping the same habits will continue to carry you to an 800.
The minimum credit score needed to buy a house can range from 500 to 700, but will ultimately depend on the type of mortgage loan you're applying for and your lender. While it's possible to get a mortgage with bad credit, you typically need good or exceptional credit to qualify for the best terms.
Still, you typically need a good credit score of 661 or higher to qualify for an auto loan. About 69% of retail vehicle financing is for borrowers with credit scores of 661 or higher, according to Experian. Meanwhile, low-credit borrowers with scores of 600 or lower accounted for only 14% of auto loans.
If you missed a payment because of extenuating circumstances and you've brought account current, you could try to contact the creditor or send a goodwill letter and ask them to remove the late payment.
Membership in the 800+ credit score club is quite exclusive, with fewer than 1 in 6 people boasting a score that high, according to WalletHub data. Since so few people have such high scores, lenders don't split the 800+ credit score crowd into smaller groups that get separate offers.
What is considered a “normal” credit limit among most Americans? The average American had access to $29,855 in credit across all of their credit cards as of the third quarter of 2023, according to Experian. But the average credit card balance was $6,501 during the same quarter— well below the average credit limit.
With FICO, fair or good credit scores fall within the ranges of 580 to 739, and with VantageScore, fair or good ranges between 601 to 780. Many personal loan lenders offer amounts starting around $3,000 to $5,000, but with Upgrade, you can apply for as little as $1,000 (and as much as $50,000).
Nearly half of Americans score between 750 and 850, in the very good to exceptional range, while less than 25% of Americans have a score between 300 and 649, the poor to fair credit score range.
South Burlington, Vt., is the city with the highest credit score, while Detroit is the city with the lowest, according to personal finance site WalletHub.
The average FICO credit score in the US is 717, according to the latest FICO data. The average VantageScore is 701 as of January 2024.
That means paying off debt in collections won't improve your score. A collection account remains on your credit report for seven years from the date the debt originally became overdue.
The three major credit bureaus—Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion—all update credit scores at least once a month. However, there isn't a specific day of the month when your credit report is guaranteed to refresh. Instead, credit score updates depend on when creditors report your payments to the credit bureaus.
You'll typically need a credit score of 620 to finance a home purchase. However, some lenders may offer mortgage loans to borrowers with a score as low as 500.
What is the highest credit score possible? To start off: No, it's not possible to have a 900 credit score in the United States. In some countries that use other models, like Canada, people could have a score of 900. The current scoring models in the U.S. have a maximum of 850.
It's generally recommended that you have two to three credit card accounts at a time, in addition to other types of credit. Remember that your total available credit and your debt to credit ratio can impact your credit scores. If you have more than three credit cards, it may be hard to keep track of monthly payments.