There's no single target. FHA starts at 580 with 3.5% down,S12 conventional generally needs 620, and the best mortgage pricing arrives around 740–760. The U.S. average is 714.S10
The five tiers
FICO range 300–850, with the national average marked
An 820 is worth no more than a 780. The top pricing tier generally caps out around 760–780. Chasing 850 optimizes a number that no longer buys anything — get to the mid-700s and put the effort somewhere it pays.
Mortgage minimums, which are published
Mortgage programs are the one place with real, documented floors. Everywhere else — credit cards, apartments, phone contracts — issuers and landlords set private criteria and publish nothing, so any specific cutoff you read for those is someone's guess.
| Program | Minimum score | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| FHA, 3.5% down | 580 | Program floorS12 |
| FHA, 10% down | 500 | Required below 580S12 |
| Conventional | 620 | Standard eligibilityS13 |
| Best conventional pricing | 740–760 | The threshold worth targeting |
Individual lenders add their own overlays on top of these floors, so a lender may decline a 600 score on an FHA loan even though the program permits 580. Shopping more than one lender matters most in exactly that band.
What a score costs on a car loan
Auto lending is where the price of a score is easiest to see, because Experian publishes average rates by credit tier. These are the same car and the same loan — only the score changes.
| Credit tier | Score | Avg APR | Monthly | Total interest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Super-prime | 781–850 | 4.55% | $725 | $6,079 |
| Prime | 661–780 | 6.23% | $759 | $8,449 |
| Near-prime | 601–660 | 9.67% | $832 | $13,510 |
| Subprime | 501–600 | 13.44% | $917 | $19,371 |
| Deep subprime | 300–500 | 16.01% | $978 | $23,550 |
The distance from near-prime to super-prime is worth $7,431 in interest on one car. That is the clearest argument on this page for spending a few months on your utilization before you shop.
Average new-vehicle APRs by credit tier per Experian.S21 Monthly payment and total interest computed on the $43,925 average new-vehicle loan amount over a 69-month term, both Experian averages. Illustrative example; your rate depends on the lender, the vehicle and the term.
What actually moves a score
A FICO score is five weighted inputs. Two of them are 65% of the total, and only one moves quickly. That's the whole strategy.S9
The five factors, by weight and by speed
Green bars change within one billing cycle
Utilization is the one you control this month
Add up the limits on every card, then the balances. The ratio is 30% of your score. Critically, the balance that gets reported is the one on your statement closing date — not your due date.
The same $20,000 of limits, three balances
Illustrative example
The fast moves, by speed
Pay balances down before the statement closes — days
Get each card under 30% of its limit, ideally under 10%. The only lever that can move a score inside one billing cycle.
Dispute genuine errors — 30 days
Pull all three reports free at AnnualCreditReport.com. Bureaus must investigate within 30 days, or 45 if you send documents mid-investigation, and report results within five business days.S11 Dispute only actual inaccuracies.
Ask for a limit increase — minutes
A higher limit lowers utilization without you paying a dollar. Request a soft-pull increase if offered, then don't use the new room.
Set autopay everywhere — permanent
Payment history is 35% of the score and one 30-day late can undo a year of work. The highest-value ten minutes on this list.
Stop applying — 90 days before you borrow
New credit costs a few points and a new account drops your average account age. Freeze applications the quarter before a mortgage.
Two things that never work. Nobody can legally remove accurate negative information — if a company promises that, the promise is the product and you're the mark. And closing old cards doesn't tidy your credit; it shortens your history and raises utilization, moving two of the five factors the wrong way at once.
Related questions
Why is my score different from my lender's? There are dozens of models. Free apps often show VantageScore 3.0; mortgage lenders typically pull older FICO versions from all three bureaus and use the middle score. A 20-point difference is routine, not an error.
Does checking my own credit hurt it? No. That's a soft inquiry with no effect. Only applications create hard inquiries.
How long do negatives last? Most report for seven years; Chapter 7 bankruptcy for ten. Their weight fades long before they fall off, so a two-year-old late payment hurts far less than a two-month-old one.