So you have contacted one of the “big three” credit bureaus (Experian, TransUnion, or Equifax) and received a free copy of your credit report. As you are looking over this information, your eye catches a number which seems to stand out from the page. You stop to scrutinize the text explaining the number, and you find out that this is your credit score. You can’t help but wonder if your 700 credit score of is a good or bad.

But is it Good Enough?

As far as the ranges of these scores go, the higher the better. A high score means both your credit rating and your credit worthiness is in pretty good shape. So, a score of 700 is pretty good when you look at the big credit picture. A score of 800 or more is considered just about perfect, so you will be looked upon fairly favorably when lenders are deciding whether or not you are a good risk. But, if your score is considerably below 800, do consider that a score in the mid 700s or higher is considered the best risk.  So, you might just want to work on improving your score a little in order to get the best interest rates you possibly can.

What’s the Best Way to Improve My Score?

It’s easy to improve your credit score. Try these simple steps, and watch that score shoot upwards!

• Make sure you pay your bills on time. This is possibly the most important tip for a better score.
• Make sure you have at least one credit card, or at the very least, some sort of installment loan. A person with no credit at all cannot expect to have much of a score.
• Don’t have any credit cards that you have not activated, but have perhaps slipped into a dresser drawer for an emergency. This is considered a dormant account, and can affect your score negatively.
• Don’t have more credit cards than you really need. Too many open accounts, even when they are in good standing, will not help your score, it could actually hurt it.
• Don’t open more than one separate credit card account at a time. This will cause multiple credit inquiries, which will lower the score.
• If you see that you are going to be late with a credit card payment, go ahead and contact the creditor. Believe it or not, they will work with you, and your payment won’t be reported as delinquent.
• Keep an eye on your credit report and make sure all the information in it is accurate.

Remember that you will probably have a slightly different score for each individual credit bureau. So, that score of 700 from Experian might turn out to be a score of 670 at TransUnion. Why is this? Some lenders only report to one, maybe two of the three big credit bureaus. The only way to know for sure if this affects your score is to get a credit report from each of the three, then compare them.

When is 700 a good credit score? Always, but do understand that if you choose to do so, you can easily improve your score.

Tags: 700 credit score, Credit Card, Credit History, Credit rating, Credit Score, Equifax, Experian, good credit score, Loan, TransUnion