Monday, July 13, 2020

There are only 4 credit grades

A credit score can range from 300 to 850 (or 900 on some models).  But this doesn't matter, because these are put into one of these categories:

D - Bad. Anything that is 669 or below.
C -  Fair.  Anything from 670 to 699.  In some cases, a score of 650 could be considered "fair", but this would be on a case-by-case basis.  (Some store cards consider a 640 to be fair).
B - Good.  Score from 700-759.
A - Excellent.  Score from 760 on up.  Sometimes a score of 750 could be considered excellent.

So what does this mean?  A consumer has at least 6 credit scores - (Equifax FICO, Experian FICO, TransUnion FICO, Equifax Vantage, Experian Vantage and TransUnion Vantage).  Forget the Vantage scores.  Look at the lowest of the FICO scores and that is the score to use for grading.

If you have a D, then you will be denied a credit card, except for some store cards and except for the bottom-feeder cards which should be avoided.  In some cases, a credit card issuer won't even give you a secured card if the score is less than 670.

If you have a score of at least 760, then a higher score is irrelevant.  See:  https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/09/going-higher-than-this-credit-score-is-a-waste-of-time-expert-says.html.

So only the scores from 670 to 760 are really relevant.

Capital One will likely deny someone a credit card if their score is outside this range.  If it is too low, then it is too risky.  If it is too high, then it is not profitable enough.


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