What is a ‘good’ credit score?
When checking your credit score, it’s useful to know what ‘good’ looks like.
What counts as a good credit score?
The scale used by each credit reference agency varies, but as a general rule, the higher your credit score is, the better your chances are of being accepted when you apply for credit.
Having a good credit score isn’t a guarantee you’ll be accepted – lenders and service providers look at other factors including affordability and any past account history – but it can give you a quick idea about your financial position at any moment in time.
Below are examples from the credit reference agencies Halifax work with:
Experian
|
Excellent |
Very good |
Good |
Poor |
Very poor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Excellent961 - 999 |
Very good881 - 960 |
Good721 - 880 |
Poor561 - 720 |
Very poor0 - 560 |
Equifax
|
Excellent |
Very good |
Good |
Poor |
Very poor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Excellent811 - 1000 |
Very good671 - 810 |
Good531 - 670 |
Poor439 - 530 |
Very poor0 - 438 |
TransUnion
|
Excellent |
Very good |
Good |
Poor |
Very poor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Excellent628 - 710 |
Very good604 - 627 |
Good566 - 603 |
Poor551 - 565 |
Very poor0 - 550 |
What can improve your credit score?
There are a number of things you can do, which might improve your credit score over time:
- Paying bills on time – including credit repayments, utility and other household bills.
- Managing accounts well – stay below your credit card limits and try to reduce your balances whenever possible.
- Limiting new applications – whether or not you’re accepted, ‘hard’ credit searches could impact your credit score.
- Registering to vote – it could boost your credit score if you’re on the electoral register.
More on how to improve your credit score
What can lower your credit score?
Things which could improve your credit score, can also damage it if you don’t do them consistently:
- Missed or late payments – it could be a good idea to set up Direct Debits to make payments automatically. Lenders and service providers may be able to help if you ever find yourself experiencing financial difficulties and can’t manage your payments.
- The way you manage your accounts – it could impact your credit score if you have a lot of existing debt, or you go over any agreed credit limits.
- Making lots of applications – whether or not you’re accepted, ‘hard’ credit searches could impact your credit score, especially if you make a number of full applications in a short period of time.
- Not being on the electoral register – being on the electoral roll is one way that your identity and home address can be checked, which could help to improve your credit score.
A summary on good credit scores
Having a good credit score could help you to get lower interest rates and higher credit limits.
- To generate a credit score, credit reference agencies collect information from public records, lenders and service providers. Each agency has their own measurement scale.
- When you apply for credit, lenders and service providers might check your credit record as part of their decision-making process.
- The information held by each credit reference agency can differ, so it might be a good idea to check your scores and reports with TransUnion, Experian and Equifax.
- You might be able to build your score over time, for example, by managing accounts well, limiting new credit applications and registering to vote.