What Is a Good Credit Score – Understanding Credit Ratings & Ranges

When it comes to your credit, it’s important to know how you stack up. Do you have good credit? Excellent credit? Poor credit? How can you find out?

In most cases, the easiest way to determine the health of your credit is to look at your credit score, a numerical value that reflects a mathematical analysis of your debt, your payment history, the existence of liens or other judgments, and other statistical data collected by the credit bureaus. In other words, your credit score is the compact, simplified version of your entire credit history, all rolled up into one tidy three-digit number.

Why Do You Need Good Credit?

The importance of having good credit can’t be understated. From helping you get a loan, to qualifying you for a great job, good credit simply makes life easier and less expensive.

In the eyes of lenders, employers, insurance agents, and a host of other people and entities, your credit score represents how responsible and even how ethical you are. For example, lenders look at your credit score to determine not only your ability, but your willingness to repay a loan. Insurance companies view an individual with a good credit score as someone who is trustworthy and less likely to commit insurance fraud. Employers look at credit scores as a way to determine whether a candidate will be a dependable new employee.

A bad score, however, can prevent you from being able to purchase a home, work in certain industries, and will wind up costing you a bundle in higher interest rates and fees. However, if you understand what hurts your credit score, you can make an effort to fix bad habits and improve your credit rating.

The Three Major Credit Agencies

Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion

There are three major credit agencies that provide consumer credit information (including credit scores) to the majority of interested parties: Equifax, Experian, and Transunion. Each reporting agency collects information about your credit history from a variety of sources, including lenders, landlords, and employers, as well as other sources. These includes public records, current and past loans, your payment history, and other data. They then rate your performance using a proprietary scoring system to come up with a credit score.

Because each agency may access different information and has its own formula for calculating your creditworthiness, it is not uncommon for someone to have three different credit scores.

Understanding Credit Scores

Your credit score is a three-digit number that, without context, may mean very little to you. Here is a breakdown of how lenders, insurance agencies, and employers all view your credit score:

Excellent Credit: Credit Score Above 800

If your credit score is above 800, you have an exceptionally long credit history that is unmarred by things such as late payments, collections accounts, liens, judgments, or bankruptcies. Not only do you have multiple established lines of credit, but you have or have had experience with several different types of credit, including installment loans and revolving lines of credit. You generally have a stable work history, usually with one company.

Simply stated, you are an A+ borrower in the eyes of all lenders big and small, and will have no trouble securing a loan of your choosing. Be prepared to receive the very best interest rates, repayment terms, and lowest fees available. Insurance companies love people like you because they know that you’ll pay your premiums on time and do not pose any risk of insurance fraud. Plus, prospective employers love you too because you have shown yourself to be responsible and are less likely to steal from the company or commit fraud.

Very Good Credit: Credit Scores Between 750 and 800

If your credit score is between 750 and 800, you have a long and distinguished credit history that shows a responsible payment history and the ability to handle multiple types of credit responsibly. As a matter of fact, for the most part, you are regarded in the same standard as borrowers with excellent credit history, with the exception that you may have a higher debt-to-income ratio.

In the eyes of lenders, insurance companies, and employers, you’re just as good as anyone with excellent credit and, for the most part, will receive the same red carpet treatment. However, in some cases, you may end up paying a little more in interest. But ultimately, having very good credit will qualify you for some of the best deals in town.

Good Credit: Credit Scores Between 700 and 750

Having good credit means that you have built a solid credit history by working hard to keep your accounts in good standing – however, there may be a late payment or two somewhere in your past. Things happen sometimes, but they are nothing you can’t handle. You might have had a collections account reported, but you’ve paid it. And you know you have some extra credit card debt, but you’ve made strides to get it under control.

Generally, lenders will have no issues loaning money to someone like you. Your good credit score will land you competitive interest rates and low origination fees, though certainly not as good as you could have gotten with a few more points on your score. You’ll also have no trouble getting an insurance policy for just about any need, but you should expect your premiums to be somewhat higher than for those with excellent or even very good credit.

Furthermore, your credit score should not have any negative effect on your ability to get hired, though some employers may pass you by for an equally qualified candidate with a better score. (more)