A 785 credit score is considered a great credit score! Getting to a 788 credit score takes work, and maintaining that score can also mean some heavy lifting.
About 25% of consumers fall into the great credit score range.¹
With the right steps and financial decisions, borrowers can get to this score, maintain it, and even improve it! Keep reading to learn all the ins and outs of a 788 credit score.
Key Takeaways for a 785 Credit Score
Overview of Your
Credit Rating
A 785 Credit score is considered a very good credit score! You can look forward to all kinds of benefits with this score.
Borrowing Options With a 785 Credit Score
You’ll have a great amount of options with a 785 credit, including both secured and unsecured loan options.
Maintaining a 785 Credit/FICO Score
Maintaining a 788 credit score is possible, but you’ll have to be strategic about your actions.
Is a 785 Credit Score Good?
Yes! As you probably know now, a 785 credit score is considered an excellent credit score. With this score, you can look forward to all kinds of benefits, and we’ll discuss those later on. With this score, you should have a lot of financial freedom and agency.
What Can You Get Approved for With a 785 Credit Score?
Here are some of the loan options that borrowers with a 785 credit score can look into. Remember, before choosing a loan option, it’s important to think about a few different factors:
Factor | Description |
The loan amount | The total amount of money you are borrowing. |
The interest rate | The percentage of the loan amount charged for borrowing money. |
The loan terms | The conditions and duration over which the loan must be repaid. |
Whether collateral is involved | If the loan requires an asset as security that the lender can seize if the loan is not repaid. |
Whether there is a required down payment | If an upfront payment is required or not. |
The lender themselves | The institution or individual providing the loan, their reputation, terms, and conditions. |
Personal Loans
Personal loans are usually unsecured loan options that people take out for many reasons. These are usually installment loans, which means that you’ll have to repay them in steady monthly payments until the loan is repaid in full.
Bank Loans
Bank loans include a wide range of loans that a bank may offer. This could be a smaller bank that operates locally or larger commercial banks that run across the country. Because bank loans are just any loan that comes from one of these institutions, several loans can fall under this umbrella term. So, a bank loan could be:
- A credit card
- An auto loan
- A mortgage
- A private student loan
- A business loan
Credit Cards
Credit cards are a popular form of borrowing. These are revolving accounts, which means you can borrow from them multiple times as long as you aren’t at your credit limit. If you do get to your credit limit, you can simply make a payment to then be able to use the card again. Here are some popular credit options from varying credit card issuers:
- Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
- American Express® Gold Card
- Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
- Citi® Double Cash Card
- Discover it® Cash Back
- Bank of America® Customized Cash Rewards credit card
- Wells Fargo Propel American Express® card
Car Loans
Auto loans make it possible to finance the purchase of a vehicle. These are different from leases, which aren’t an actual purchase of a car, as you may already know. Auto loans can be found with several different kinds of lenders, and it’s important to do your research on them before starting your search.
Products To Help Maintain a 785 Credit Score
Getting to a higher credit score, such as a 785 credit score, takes a lot of work! And once you get there, maintaining is essential so you don’t have to do all that work again.
Here are some products that can be extremely helpful for maintaining your credit scores.
Credit Report Monitoring Services
Credit report monitoring services do exactly what they sound like: they check your credit reports for you. That way, if any changes are made to your credit reports, you will be alerted right away. This can be extremely helpful for maintaining your credit scores.
Debt Management Plans
Debt management plans can help you take control of your debt, which in turn can help you maintain your great credit score. There are all kinds of plans you can follow; you can do it yourself or talk to an expert; either way, it’s crucial to stay on top of your debt.
Alternative Credit Account Reporting
Your history of payments is the most significant factor that impacts your credit scores and history. However, many people may want to stay away from taking on extra debt. If that is the case for you, then alternative credit account reporting may be your solution.
With these options, your payments like phone bills, utilities, rent, etc. (payments that many people make every month in a timely manner) will be reported to one or more of the major credit reporting bureaus. With timely payments, you can maintain your great credit score and may even be able to improve it!
Specific Credit-Focused Lending
Some loans are available to help you improve/build your credit. Again, these can be another tool to help continue making those monthly payments that are reported to the credit bureaus. Loans that fall under this category can include credit builder loans and secured credit cards. Here are some examples of popular credit builder loans:
- Self
- Credit Strong
- SeedFi’s Credit Builder Plan
- DCU Credit Builder Loan
- MoneyLion Credit Builder Loan
- Fig Loans
- Alliant Credit Union Credit Builder Loan
Benefits of a 785 Credit Score
Having a 785 credit score has many benefits; here are some that you could look forward to with a credit score that is in the excellent range.
Low-Interest Rates
When you have a great credit score, it can mean lower interest rates for any loan that you borrow. Although this may not seem like a big deal for small loans, it may actually save you hundreds of dollars. With larger loans, you could save thousands!
More Loan Options to Choose From
When you have a good credit score, you’ll have lots of loan options to choose from. This can be a huge benefit as you can pick and choose exactly what kind of borrowing option you need. The more personalization with debt, the better time you’ll likely have with repayment.
Financial Freedom
Another benefit of having a good credit score/average credit score is that you’ll be able to move through the financial world and, in many cases, the real world with much more ease.
How To Maintain Your 785 Credit Score
Trying to maintain your 785 credit score? Here are some tips that can help you:
Make Your Bill Payments of Time
With all credit score models, the most impactful factor that impacts your score is your payment history on your credit accounts. If you already have a 785 credit score, then you likely already have a good payment history with your accounts; however, it’s essential to maintain those on-time payments to keep that credit score high.
Keep Your Credit Card Accounts Open
Because credit cards are revolving credit, they impact your credit utilization ratio in both ways: your available credit and your current credit usage. When you close a credit card account, it can have a significant negative impact on your credit utilization ratio. And so, to help maintain your credit scores, it will be helpful to keep your credit accounts open.
Keep Your Debt Low
As mentioned earlier, debt will impact several aspects of your credit and finances. And so it will be in your credit score’s best interest to keep your debt down!
Avoid Lots of New Credit Inquiries
There are two types of credit checks—hard and soft credit inquiries. Soft credit checks do not impact your credit score. While hard credit checks do impact your scores. Having multiple hard credit inquiries in a short period of time will hurt your credit scores, so it’s essential to avoid doing that!
FAQs About 785 Credit Scores
What factors contribute to achieving a higher credit score, and how does credit mix play a role?
Your credit utilization ratio plays a big role in your credit score. With a 650 score, keeping your credit use low can really help. This ratio shows how much of your available funding you’re using. Lenders like to see it under 30%. So, if you can, try to pay down those credit card balances.
How can late and missed payments affect credit scores, and what steps can be taken to mitigate this impact on a good credit score?
Late and missed payments can significantly affect credit scores, as payment history is a critical component of credit scoring models. To mitigate this impact, it’s essential to catch up on overdue payments as quickly as possible and consider setting up payment reminders or automatic payments for future bills. Consistently making on-time payments can help repair your credit history over time.
Is it possible to have a perfect credit score, and what benefits does a higher credit score offer over a good credit score?
While achieving a perfect credit score is rare, striving for a higher credit score offers numerous benefits over merely having a good credit score. These benefits of higher FICO scores include lower interest rates on loans and credit cards, higher credit limits, and better chances of approval for rental houses and jobs.
How often should I check my credit report to ensure my credit history accurately reflects my financial behavior?
It’s advisable to check your credit report at least once a year to ensure your credit history accurately reflects your financial behavior. Regular monitoring can help you catch and dispute any inaccuracies or fraudulent activities early, which can help maintain or improve your average credit score. You’re entitled to a free credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus annually.
What strategies can I employ to move from an average credit score to a higher credit score, especially regarding FICO scores?
To move from an average credit score to a higher credit score, focus on maintaining a flawless payment history, reducing your credit card balances, managing your credit utilization ratio effectively, and diversifying your credit mix.
What Interest Rate Can I Get With a 785 Credit Score?
Interest rates will vary quite a bit depending on the loan type, the lender, and the borrower’s credit history. And so it will be difficult to get a specific range. However, with an average credit score of 775 credit score, you can rest assured that you will be in the lower range of interest rates.
Can I Buy a House With a 785 Credit Score?
Home buying comes with lots of different steps and requirements, one of them is a credit score requirement. In most cases, an average credit score of 785 should be good to pass that part of a mortgage. However, you’ll also have to pass things like the income requirements, have an acceptable debt-to-income ratio, have enough for a down payment plus closing costs, and more. Your best place to start is to talk to a mortgage broker!
Top 5 Resources for a 785 Credit Score
References:
- 785 Credit Score: Is it Good or Bad? | Experian