800 Credit Score: What It Means for You And How To Reach It
The U.S. personal finance system runs on credit, which is why your credit score is so important. Reaching a great credit score can take time, but there are milestones along the way that show you're taking the right steps.
That's what this series is about, and today, we'll discuss an 800 credit score, what it means for you, and how you can get there.
Credit score ranges
These are the credit score ranges:
300 to 579: Poor
580 to 669: Fair
670 to 739: Good
740 to 799: Very Good
800 to 850: Excellent
800 credit score
Congratulations! Once you've reached a credit score of 800, you're in the Excellent range, the top tier of the credit score ranges. While you're not alone, you don't exactly have a ton of company. Just 23% of your fellow consumers have a credit score of 800 or higher.
And an 800 score is much higher than the average consumer's score of 714 (Good). An 800 credit score shows potential creditors that you've very successfully managed every aspect of your credit; your payments are on-time, your utilization is low, you have a lengthy credit history, you have both revolving and installment credit accounts, and you don't often apply for new credit.
That means potential creditors will practically be tripping over themselves to offer you credit with the best terms and best interest rates. Your credit score and reports have no red flags that would make a potential lender see you as a credit risk.
Reaching an 800 credit score
If your score is not yet at 800, you can take steps to get there.
Upwardli
Upwardli was created to help those new to the U.S. or the credit system build credit quickly and easily. Get pre-approved instantly - no credit check or deposit required! Each account includes an unsecured line of credit designed to build credit fast. Track your progress and watch your credit score grow. You'll also get personalized insights to help grow your score even faster.
Monitor your credit score
As your credit score moves into the upper echelons, you might start thinking of making a large purchase like a home or a vehicle. Because a high score means better loan terms, you want to make sure your score stays high. If you've read the other articles in this series, you already know the tips to do so.
But things outside of your control can impact your credit score. Errors on your credit report, for instance, or fraud. Check your credit score once a month. Small fluctuations are normal, but you need to investigate further if you see a significant drop.
First, check your credit card and bank statements for fraudulent activity and immediately report any suspicious charges to the credit card issuer or your bank. In nearly all cases, you are not responsible for fraudulent charges if you report them quickly.
Next, order copies of your credit report from annualcreditreport.com and check for incorrect or fraudulent entries. If you find any, you can dispute them and have them removed from your report.
Rate window shop
Again, your high credit score might tempt you to start looking at homes and vehicles. Do some window shopping for your loan options. It's not the "olden days" when you walked into your local bank and took the offer they gave you.
The internet has made it possible to see multiple offers from a variety of lenders, and as we've discussed, even a small difference in interest rates can mean saving thousands of dollars over time. Putting some basic personal and financial information into loan aggregator sites and seeing preliminary offers won't impact your credit score. That doesn't happen until you formally apply for a loan.
In our next article, we will discuss the next credit score milestone, the Mount Everest of credit scores, an 850.