An 800 credit score is firmly in the excellent range of scores. Lenders use your credit score to decide if you qualify for financial products like credit cards and loans and to set your interest rate.
Only 24% of Americans had a score of 800 and above as of April 2023, according to credit scoring company FICO.
Here’s how your 800 credit score can affect your financial life.
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You can get the best rates on credit cards and loans
With an 800 credit score, you can breathe easy — you will typically qualify for most financial products and get among the very best rates.
That may not be the case if you are relatively new to credit, however, because lenders look for more than a high score. The length of time you've had credit and how much debt you carry relative to your income also is considered.
Read more about the factors that influence your score, so you know what matters most in maintaining your access to the best credit products.
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Ways to safeguard your 800 credit score
You already practice excellent credit habits, but the following tips will help you preserve your score. And they'll be of interest if you like the challenge of going for 850, the top score on non-specialty credit scores.
Set up automatic payments. A single late payment can shave as much as 100 points off your credit score. If you don't have automatic payments, consider setting them up to avoid the risk of missing a payment and tanking your score.
Watch credit utilization. It's better for your score to use less of your credit limits. You can make multiple payments throughout a single billing cycle to keep utilization consistently low.
Look out for errors on your credit reports. Mistakes on credit reports are common and they may prevent your score from going higher. Keep an eye on your reports at all three major credit bureaus and dispute any errors you find.
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