A credit rating of 700 is a great score to have. It falls within the good credit range, which is 700 to 749, and is just below the excellent credit score range of 750 to 850. People with such high scores are in a great position to qualify for the best possible mortgages, car loans, and credit cards. It's important to remember that reviewing your credit reports will not hurt your credit rating.
This is because it's a gentle consultation and the information is just for you, as long as you request it from an authorized credit reporting agency. The Fair Credit Reporting Act requires reporting companies, including Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, to provide free credit reports every 12 months. There's also a temptation to close credit cards once they have been paid off, but leaving them open can actually increase your credit rating. This is because the age of your credit history accounts for 15 percent of your total FICO score. Additionally, newly opened credit determines 10 percent of your FICO credit rating. Opening multiple credit accounts too quickly increases risk, especially for those with a short credit history.
Rejected applications may also appear in the report, which can lead to a decrease in your credit rating. When you need to open a new line of credit, whether for a new car, student loan, or mortgage, consider your rate purchase time window. FICO ratings ignore loan inquiries for 30 days before their next rating report. This means that if you fall within this period, inquiries will not affect your score. As you can see, with a credit rating of 700, you have a great chance of being approved when you apply for funding.
This is based on the credit portion of a request. Other factors such as employment and income will also be evaluated. Once submitted, these ratings will be reviewed and if found to be inaccurate, removed from your report, instantly increasing your score. Lenders make decisions about several factors and credit score is just one of them, making it impossible to say how much you could borrow. It's encouraging to know that nearly a quarter of people aged 18 to 24 have credit scores of 700+.
The goal is to reduce the utilization rate or total credit card balances divided by the credit limit. The longer you have used credit and the longer the average age of accounts, the better it tends to be for your rating. A regular check-up on your credit score is a reliable way to identify financial weaknesses so you can create a solid plan to combat them. Increasing your credit limit isn't a viable solution for everyone but if you already have good credit doing so can cause your score to rise above 700. If you wait until the due date to pay your credit report may show a high balance and utilization on your card until the next monthly update. It's important to understand that there's a big difference between knowing what your credit score is and really understanding it.
Since average credit scores are rising this is a time when you definitely want to keep up with the Joneses. While you may sometimes be able to increase your ratings quickly most of the time it requires hard work and patience. If you have an open expensive line of credit (such as a high annual fee card) you may want to close it. This can help improve your overall financial health.
