How good is a credit score of 660?
- GRG
Dear GRG,
A credit score of 660 falls a little below the national average. While there are many different credit scoring models available, the average score as calculated by the VantageScore® model currently is around 685, with the average FICO® Score☉ around 700.
How Can I Improve My Score?
If you are trying to improve your credit scores, don't be discouraged. There are ways to keep your scores moving in the right direction. Here are some steps you can take to begin boosting your credit:
- Request your credit report. You can get your free credit report from each of the three credit reporting companies (Experian, TransUnion and Equifax) at AnnualCreditReport.com. Knowing exactly what is in your credit reports is the first step in improving your credit.
- Order your free credit score. You can get your free Experian credit score online anytime. You can also download the Experian mobile app to access your report and score from your mobile device.
- Review your risk factors. You will receive a list of risk factors with your credit score. These will tell you which elements from your credit history are most impacting scores at this time. Improving on these factors will help you improve all your credit scores.
- Consider signing up for Experian Boost®ø. With Experian Boost, you can get credit for your on-time utility payments, such as natural gas, water and electricity. You can also add your on-time cellphone payments and even your video streaming bills, such as Netflix®, to your credit file.
With your permission, Experian will add these payments going back up to 24 months. You will get a FICO® 8 score for free before and after you add the payments to your Experian credit report so you can see how much it changes when you use Experian Boost.
If at any time you no longer want these payments included in your credit history, you can discontinue them.
Although anyone can benefit from Experian Boost, people with credit scores below 680 and those with "thin files" typically see the most improvement—an average of about 19 points.
Thanks for asking.
Jennifer White, Consumer Education Specialist
This question came from a recent Periscope session we hosted.