Many borrowers understand how important a credit score is to getting the best loan offers and the lowest interest rates. That is why now more and more people are interested in having a good or excellent credit history. However, what if you don’t know how to build good credit? What if you have a good credit history but want to improve it?
Keep reading to find out what a credit score is, how it works, what is the minimum maximum credit score, and how to get an 800 credit score.
What Is A Credit Score?
A credit score is a three-digit number from 300 to 850 that shows the creditworthiness of the borrower. The higher the credit score, the more trustworthy the borrower looks in the eyes of a potential lender. It is important to note that a credit score is usually based on credit history, such as the number of open accounts, overall debt, loan repayment history, and more. Thus, lenders use the credit score to assess how likely the borrower is to be able to pay the debt on time. More often than not, a credit score is crucial, along with income, in deciding whether to approve a borrower’s application.
The most popular scoring system is FICO, as it is used by most financial institutions.
How Does A Credit Score Work?
As you can imagine, a credit score plays an important role in a lender’s decision to offer you a loan or not. Thus, if you have a bad credit history, most likely you will not be able to get a loan offer from a bank or a credit union, and you will have to turn to online lenders with extremely high interest rates. What’s more, borrowers with bad credit may also experience shorter repayment periods and other fees and charges.
With good credit, on the other hand, the borrower does not have to worry about getting unfavorable loan offers, and the lender provides him with the opportunity to get the best interest rates. A credit score above 800 is considered excellent. Below you can study the table to understand what kind of credit you have:
| 800 to 850 | Excellent |
| 740 to 799 | Very Good |
| 670 to 739 | Good |
| 580 to 669 | Fair |
| 300 to 579 | Poor |
What Does It Mean To Have A 800 Credit Score?
Since credit score has a significant impact on what interest rates and loan terms you get, many borrowers ask themselves how to get credit score from 750 to 800 and how long does it take to get 800 credit score.
In fact, if you have a credit score of 800, then your credit score is better than good. Moreover, according to the most popular credit scoring model, such as FICO, such a credit score can be called Excellent. It is important to note that in 2018, only 20% of Americans had a credit score of at least 800 or more. However, how to get 750 credit score?
It is important to understand that in order to get such a high credit score, you will need to devote a lot of time to it. Thus, you will need to have a long credit history, a good credit mix, an ideal payment history and so on.
Thus, after lenders see that you have an excellent credit history, he will understand that you are much less likely to miss a payment than borrowers with bad credit. That is why you can get a better loan offer.
How To Get A Credit Score Over 800?
If you are the type of person who wants to know how to increase credit score form 750 to 800, here are some basic tips you can learn. While there are no guarantees that your credit score will definitely reach 800, following them is guaranteed to improve your credit.
1. Build your credit history
Many people know that the length of a credit history is 15% of a credit score. Thus, a negative, non-existent, or minimal credit history will most likely prevent you from reaching an 800 credit score. However, this problem has its solution – you need to create good credit. In order to do this, you can apply for your first credit card or get a credit-building loan, for example. This loan is specifically designed to help borrowers add a positive payment history and credit report. Also, using your credit card responsibly will help you improve your credit history as well.
2. Keep credit usage low
Your credit utilization ratio is 30% of your credit score. So your credit utilization ratio measures the amount of credit you use compared to your total credit limit. Many experts recommend not exceeding 30% of the credit limit. Thus, if your card limit is $1000, it is recommended to use no more than $300. If you want to maximize your credit score, you need to keep your credit utilization ratio as low as possible.
3. Pay your bills on time
You probably know that your payment history is the most important factor in your credit score, as it makes up 35% of your credit score. Thus, it is very important that you make regular monthly payments. In the event that your bills are overdue by 30 days or more, your creditor will most likely report this to the credit bureaus and your credit history will be worsened. Thus, you need to constantly make sure that you pay or keep your bills on time if you want to reach an 800 credit score.
4. Check your credit score for errors
You probably know that you can request a free copy of your credit report once every 12 months to track your progress and review your credit report for errors. Thus, after looking at your credit report, pay attention to any inaccuracies that you may find there and report them to credit bureau.
