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How Good Is a Credit Score of 715?

FT Contributor
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A credit score of 715 ranks as “Good,” according to Experian’s official credit score range. While this means you’ve already surpassed “Very Poor” and “Fair” credit scores that require more serious attention, a 715 credit score still leaves opportunity for improvement and additional benefits.

Credit scores are comprised of five financial factors which help determine overall score:

  • Credit age;
  • Payment history;
  • Credit type;
  • Overall debt;
  • New credit.

Your credit score —  a reflection of a borrower’s likelihood to repay a loan from a lender —  influences your ability to secure new credit cards, personal and property loans, even reasonable monthly car insurance premiums.

A Good credit score of 715 or higher can mean increased benefits with reduced rates, while credit score decreases can lead to higher fees and more difficult loan approvals.

Understanding your credit score is the first step to improving it. Take advantage of free, secure credit reporting programs like AnnualCreditReport.com for regular credit updates that can help explain any recent credit improvements or changes.

Table of Contents

Why Your Credit Score Is 715

While it’s impossible to determine the exact reason why a credit score sees an increase or decrease, common influences on a credit score of 715 include total remaining debt, payment history, and yearly hard inquiries.

Total Remaining Debt

Credit scores can be positively affected by high levels of remaining debt; Fair and Very Poor credit scores are oftentimes characterized by sustained levels of debt that go unpaid for months, even years.

Remaining credit debt is one of the main factors in determining an overall credit score. With a Good credit score of 715, you’ve likely made a habit of keeping existing balances low.

Owed debt is the second-most important ranking factor in determining an overall credit score, behind payment history. Debt makes up 30% of the equation that determines a credit score.

You can further improve your Good credit ranking by continuing to keep balances low, and ensuring that you’re paying down old debts as fast, or faster, than you’re accumulating any new debts.

Payment History

Comprising 35% of your overall credit score, payment history is the largest influence on where your credit stands today. With a credit score of 715, you’ve likely already taken steps to ensure regular, on-time payments against your balance.

It’s also possible that your payment history is marked by one, or several, partial or missed payments. Just as easily as on-time payments can help you build a Good credit score, incomplete or late payments can compromise your score and make it harder to use credit in the ways you want.

Full, complete payments every month help ensure that your payment history reflects positively on your overall credit score.

Yearly Hard Inquiries

Any time a borrower applies for a new line of credit, the lender may perform a hard inquiry — a routine financial history check to determine a borrower’s creditworthiness. Hard inquiries can stay on your financial record for up to one year, before they are automatically removed.

While one or two hard inquiries per year aren’t harmful, excessive hard inquiries can present significant barriers toward securing new loans.

Through a credit reporting bureau, lenders can view a borrower’s hard inquiries, and a large number of hard inquiries can identify potentially risky applicants. Keeping hard inquiries low helps you avoid credit score decreases, and also helps to mature the age of your existing credit lines.

What Can You Do With a 715 Credit Score?

A Good credit score of 715 means you’re in line to enjoy certain financial benefits. While you won’t obtain rates and fees as low as someone with an Exceptional credit score, a 715 credit score still allows you to secure personal and property loans, apartment rentals, reasonable car insurance premiums, and even some of the best rewards-based credit cards available today.

Consult the below details for even more information on the opportunities available to you with a Good credit score of 715.

  • Personal loans help consumers address financial needs — such as a home renovation or an emergency medical bill — as they arise.
    • While you might not be able to land the lowest-possible loan rate, a Good credit score helps unlock personal loans with reasonable fees when you need them.
  • Mortgage loans are also easy to secure with a credit score of 715. Your Good credit score isn’t enough to unlock the lowest-possible interest rates, though you’ll still qualify for a no-hassle mortgage to put toward your next property.
  • Incentive-based credit cards offer benefits for virtually every purchase.
    • Earn airline miles, hotel points, cash back, rewards from your favorite retailers, and other perks from credit cards that may come with 0% financing introductory offers.
  • Car insurance premiums will be reasonable, but not the lowest possible rates, with a credit score of 715. Car insurance providersconsider credit scores when determining monthly rates, making your Good credit score a major benefit.

With a Good credit score of 715, earning a new loan or credit card should be relatively simple. While you aren’t likely to secure an industry-leading interest rate without a Very Good or Exceptional credit score, a 715 credit rating is still sufficient to help you take positive financial steps on your timetable.

How to Improve a 715 Credit Score

If you have already achieved a credit score of 715, it means you’ve likely done the small things right. You’ve made an established habit of on-time debt payments, and your overall loan utilization is low. Continuing to maintain complete payments to pay down balances will mean further increases to your credit score.

If partial or missed payments have compromised your credit score in the past, set reminders on your phone or computer prompting you to make full payments. Consider setting up automatic payments directly in your credit accounts, so that bills are paid down each month without a necessary reminder.

Keep in mind, automatic payments will withdraw funding from your bank account to pay down credit balances, so you’ll need to ensure bank accounts are adequately full to avoid overdrafting.

Improving a 715 credit score also means sustaining disciplined financial practices. Look to limit impulse purchases to an appropriate minimum, which will allow you to allocate even more money every month toward your credit statements.

Paying down debts is possible — no matter your regular income — if balances are paid faster than new debt is built.


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