760 credit score: A guide to credit scores
Highlights
- A 760 credit score shows most lenders that you may be a good candidate for loans.
- You may have access to more financial opportunities with a 760 credit score.
- To maintain and improve a 760 credit score, you should model a range of healthy financial habits, such as continuing to pay your bills on time and keeping your credit utilization low.
Unlike some other credit scores, a 760 credit score is particularly interesting because, depending on the model used (VantageScore® or FICO®) it can fall into two different credit score ranges. However, a 760 score essentially means you have good credit and can likely gain access to many financial options. Let’s dive into detail below.
Understanding a 760 credit score
When we look at the VantageScore® and the FICO® scoring models, they break up their credit score numbers into the groupings below.
For VantageScore, the ranges include:
- Excellent: 781 to 850
- Good: 661 to 780
- Fair: 601 to 660
- Poor: 500 to 600
- Very Poor: 300 to 499
For FICO scores, the ranges include:
- Exceptional: 800+
- Very Good: 740 to 799
- Good: 670 to 739
- Fair: 580 to 669
- Poor: 579 and below
As you can see, in the VantageScore credit score range, a 760 credit score falls within the "good” category, while for the FICO score, 760 falls under the “very good” category. This is a marginal difference, but regardless of which scoring model you use, a 760 credit score positions you as generally being low risk to most lenders. Therefore, you might be able to get more favorable loan terms and interest rates.
Factors that contribute to a 760 credit score can include a history of on-time payments, low credit utilization, and a mix of different types of credit accounts. These factors are important to maintain and even improve your score as well (more on this later).
You may want to continue to maintain a good credit score as it can impact various aspects of personal finance, including loan approvals and credit card applications.
Opportunities with a 760 credit score
As mentioned earlier, a good credit score can give you options that lower credit scores may not. These can include, but are not limited to:
- Better chances for approvals. This goes for mortgages, personal loans and more.
- Potentially lower annual percentage rates (APRs). With a higher score, you could land more favorable rates on your loans and credit cards, saving you in interest over time.
- A smoother rental application process. Many landlords conduct credit checks as part of the process of renting an apartment or home. With a good credit score, you could be more easily approved for your next residence.
Maintaining a 760 credit score
Now that you know some of the benefits of having a 760 credit score, you’re probably wondering how you can maintain your score so that you can keep them. Below are some ways to help you maintain a 760 credit score:
Regularly checking your credit score and credit report can help identify errors and monitor your credit health.
Paying bills on time and in full and avoiding excessive credit applications.
Understanding your credit utilization ratio, which is the amount of credit you use against your total available credit, and trying to keep it below 30%.
Building a positive credit history over time by responsibly managing credit accounts and diversifying credit types.
Improving a 760 credit score
Whether you fall into the good or very good range, you are not far away from making it to the next tier of “excellent” credit scores. There may be a variety of reasons as to why you want to improve your score, such as access to even lower rates, more purchasing power and getting approved for a credit card. To help you scale to the next tier of credit scores, consider taking the following steps.
Lower your credit utilization ratio
Even if your credit utilization ratio is already at 30%, try to lower this even further. You can do this by making some adjustments to your budget and lowering your credit card balances. You could also request your lender to increase your credit limit. If your issuer grants you a higher limit, it increases your overall available credit and, if you keep your spending about the same (or less), you could further improve your credit utilization.
Safeguard important information
One way you can help protect your credit from identity theft is by enrolling in Chase Credit Journey® and setting up identity and credit monitoring alerts.
Additionally, make sure you safeguard sensitive information such as your Social Security number (SSN), credit card numbers and personal identification numbers (PINs). Use strong passwords for your apps and websites, and be sure to make purchases on safe, secure websites. These sites usually include “https” at the beginning or “.gov” at the end of the link. Finally, if you’re throwing away paperwork containing sensitive information, make sure you shred it to prevent someone stealing it from the trash.
Patience, dedication and consistency
Improving your already great score takes time—there's no one set action you can take today to see a major improvement the next day. Continuing to build your credit over time with healthy habits is what can help take your credit score to the next level.
Keep in mind that while it takes time to improve your score, it can be easy to decrease it. Hard inquiries, late payments and derogatory remarks can negatively impact your progress.
In summary
A 760 credit score puts you in a more favorable financial position than those who have a lower score. However, this does not mean your number won’t fluctuate or even decline over time, depending on the financial choices you make. Having a good score means taking active steps to maintain it. Keeping an eye on your spending and practicing responsible credit management can help ensure that you will continue to have a solid financial future.
