It all depends on what you are trying to achieve. Overall, 700 is a good credit score, not a great credit score. We all find ourselves in different circumstances at different times of our lives. Here is a basic guideline to what kind of credit score you need to get approved in different financial situations. All of these vary based on your specific circumstances and the rules the company you are dealing with has set internally.

Greater than

- 550 to be approved for a checking account at a bank or credit union

- 600 to be approved for a car loan

- 700 to be approved for a home loan

- 750 to get the lowest interest rates on loans

The better your credit score, the easier your financial life will be. You no longer have to pay high interest rates for loans, because companies consider you a low risk. You can read more background information about FICO scores at here.

The good thing is if your credit score is 700 and that is enough for the loan you are looking for, then your score will go even higher as you faithfully pay off that loan.

All of the above is based on the assumption that we are talking about FICO credit scores. There are others out there. FICO scores max out at 850. There are others that go higher. For example there is a credit score called Vantage which goes up to 950. Make sure you know which credit score is being reported to you. For a Vantage score anything below a 900 starts being disadvantageous and 700 would be downright problematic. 700 would be a terrible score.

The three major credit reporting companies are Equifax, TransUnion and Experian. They use credit scores with ranges equivalent to the FICO score. You can pay them to receive a report which includes your current credit score as calculated by them. You may have heard of your right to receive a free credit report every year. This is correct. You can request that report at www.annualcreditreport.com but don’t expect to see your credit score in that report.

However, it will include all the information the company uses to calculate your credit score, so you should definitely request that report and make sure the information included in it is accurate. It won’t do you any good to be the best behaved financial manager around, if it is not being reported accurately or even worse, if someone else has tapped into your financial record and opened accounts in your name that you don’t know about. Your record could be destroyed quickly without you knowing about it.

Identity theft is still on the rise and already one of the largest problems of internet crime. Don’t become a victim. Monitor your finances regularly and carefully. If you have worked hard enough to get your score to 700, you should protect that score, so you can coax it up to the 750 range where you will not only be offered the best interest rates on loans but also the cheapest insurance rates on insurance policies for your vehicles and home when you purchase one. People who have proven to be low risk as far as handling money is concerned are offered the best deals in any aspect of financial management. If you are wondering whether 700 is a good credit score, you are well on your way to a great credit score, so protect your accomplishments and keep working at it.