What Is A Good FICO (Fair Isaac Corporation) Score 9 Today?

FICO Score 9 today runs from 300 to 850, and a score of 670 or higher is typically considered good for most borrowing needs.

• 300‑579  - Poor: Lenders view these scores as high‑risk; approval is rare and rates are steep.
• 580‑669  - Fair: You may qualify for some loans, but terms are usually sub‑optimal.
• 670‑739  - Good: Most lenders approve you for standard credit products; rates are competitive.
• 740‑799  - Very good: You access premium credit cards and mortgage rates near the best available.
• 800‑850  - Exceptional: You receive the lowest interest rates and the most favorable credit limits.

Lenders download your FICO 9 directly from the credit bureaus, feed it into their automated underwriting systems, and let the score dictate whether you qualify and at what cost.

They translate the numeric value into risk buckets - today, scores 740 and above are treated as 'excellent' and earn the lowest interest rates, 720‑739 as 'good' with only a modest price bump, 660‑719 as 'fair' where higher fees or tighter limits appear, and anything below 660 as 'risky,' often resulting in denial or subprime terms. Most banks also glance at the 24‑month trend, rewarding a rising score and penalizing a falling one.

Because each loan type has its own pricing model, the same FICO 9 can trigger different outcomes: mortgages look for 740+ to unlock the best rate tiers, premium credit cards typically start at 720, while auto lenders may accept 680 for competitive offers. The next sections break down those exact thresholds for mortgages and premium cards.

The best mortgage rates today typically go to borrowers with a FICO Score 9 of 760 or higher; scores between 740 and 759 still qualify for very competitive rates, while 720 to 739 may receive modestly higher rates. As explained in the previous section on how lenders actually use your FICO 9, lenders map these score bands to risk tiers that directly affect the interest rate they offer.

• 760 +  -  Qualifies for the lowest 'prime' rates, often the best terms and lowest fees.
• 740  -  759  -  Earns rates just a few basis points above the prime tier; still considered excellent.
• 720  -  739  -  Raters see you as low‑risk, but lenders may add a small surcharge.
• below 720  -  Rates increase noticeably; you may need to shop harder for a good deal.

For most premium credit cards today, issuers typically require a FICO Score 9 of 740 or higher. Scores between 720 and 739 can still earn a card, but applicants often face lower limits or fewer perks, while a score below 720 rarely qualifies for these elite products.

If your FICO Score 9 sits in the 740‑760 range, you'll see the strongest approvals and the most generous introductory offers. Scores in the low‑700s may still work for cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred, but expect tighter credit lines.

Next, we'll compare how FICO 9 differs from FICO 8 and VantageScore when lenders evaluate premium card applications. For detailed eligibility data, see premium credit cards eligibility criteria.

FICO 9, FICO 8, and VantageScore differ in five key ways.

• Medical and tax collections: FICO 9 ignores paid medical collections and paid tax liens, FICO 8 counts both, while VantageScore 4.0 also excludes paid medical collections but still factors unpaid tax liens.
• Alternative data inclusion: FICO 9 can incorporate rent, utility and phone payments if lenders opt‑in, FICO 8 rarely does, and VantageScore 4.0 routinely adds these trended payments to the score.
• Data trend usage: FICO 9 analyzes 24‑month payment trends, FICO 8 looks at a static snapshot, and VantageScore 4.0 relies heavily on monthly trends across all reported accounts.
• Utilization weighting: FICO 9 reduces the impact of high credit‑card balances compared with FICO 8, whereas VantageScore 4.0 places a heavier weight on utilization, especially for revolving debt.
• Lender adoption today: FICO 8 remains the most widely used model in 2024, FICO 9 is growing but still limited to major banks and mortgage lenders, and VantageScore is popular with fintechs and newer credit products.

A 20‑50‑point rise in your FICO 9 usually comes from tightening utilization, cleaning up negatives, and adding healthy credit quickly.

1. Slash revolving utilization - Pay down credit‑card balances to below 30 % of each limit; dropping from 50 % to 10 % often adds 20 - 40 points.
2. Ask for a higher credit limit - If you have a good payment history, a limit increase lowers utilization without extra spending, delivering a similar boost.
3. Settle overdue accounts - Pay any past‑due loans or collections in full; once the status changes to 'paid,' FICO 9 generally sees a 10 - 20‑point lift after 30 days.
4. Dispute inaccurate items - Review your report for wrong balances, duplicate entries, or closed accounts listed as open; a successful dispute can erase negative data and raise your score by up to 15 points.
5. Become an authorized user on a high‑limit, low‑balance card - Choose a relative with a strong payment record; the added good‑will credit can instantly add 10 - 30 points.
6. Keep oldest accounts open - Closing long‑standing cards shortens credit history and can shave points; leave them active even if you use them rarely.

These actions target the three biggest FICO 9 drivers - utilization, payment history, and length of credit - and can produce a noticeable jump within a month or two.

Rent, utility and subscription reporting can lift a thin‑file FICO 9 by roughly 5‑20 points today. These data streams feed the 'alternative‑payment' category that FICO 9 includes, so on a clean credit history they often translate into a noticeable bump.

• Rental payments - Services such as Experian RentBureau transmit on‑time rent to the credit bureaus; a consistent 12‑month record can add 5‑10 points, especially if you lack many revolving accounts.
• Utility bills - Programs like Experian Boost let you link electric, gas or water accounts; each positive month typically contributes 2‑4 points, and the cumulative effect of a year's history may reach 10 points.
• Subscription services - Reporting options for streaming or telecom subscriptions (e.g., Netflix, Spotify) feed regular payment activity; a steady 12‑month subscription often yields 3‑5 points, useful when other tradelines are sparse.

If you already have a robust tradeline mix, the incremental gain may be modest, but for a thin or newly‑established file the boost can be the difference between qualifying for a premium credit card (section 4) or a top mortgage rate (section 3). Combine these reports with the quick‑boost tactics from section 6 and monitor your file's thickness as discussed in section 9 to maximize your FICO 9 score.

Paid collections only affect FICO 9 when they remain unpaid; an unpaid collection can drop a score by 30‑50 points, but once the debt is fully paid the model removes it entirely, restoring the previous score (source: official FICO Score 9 model).

Medical debt hurts far less - FICO 9 caps its weight, typically shaving 5‑15 points for a large unpaid bill, and if the bill is paid within 180 days the negative mark disappears; after that window the debt is excluded, so a $2,000 medical charge that briefly lowered a 740 score back to 730 will vanish once cleared.

If your FICO 9 file is thin, begin by creating a handful of active, positive credit relationships. A 'thin' file means you have fewer than three recent tradelines - or only a mix of low‑limit, short‑history accounts - so the scoring model lacks enough data to predict risk accurately, often resulting in a lower baseline score today.

Typical fixes include: open a secured credit card and use it for a small recurring purchase, then pay in full each month; become an authorized user on a family member's long‑standing card; enroll in a credit‑builder loan or a reporting‑service that adds rent, utilities, or subscription payments to your credit file; keep any old accounts open even if unused; and avoid new hard inquiries until you have at least three active accounts.

Each step adds a different type of tradeline, giving FICO 9 the depth it needs to move you out of the thin‑file penalty zone.

Bank of America FICO Score enrollment exposes your personal credit data to sharing practices you should understand. The service requires BofA to pull your credit file, store it on its servers, and, under its privacy policy, share portions of it with credit bureaus, marketing partners, and analytics firms. This sharing does not alter your official FICO score, but it creates vectors for data misuse or breach.

For example, BofA may transmit your score to a budgeting app you link, use recent balances to pitch a new credit card, and provide de‑identified profile data to third‑party advertisers. A data breach could reveal your name, Social Security number, and account numbers to criminals. The bank also retains the right to sell aggregated, non‑personal data for industry research, as described in the Bank of America privacy notice. Understanding these risks helps you weigh privacy against the convenience of seeing the score alongside official FICO score details.

Someone with a FICO 9 around 720 today typically qualifies for prime‑rate mortgages (≈3.5‑4% APR), gets approved for premium credit cards with 0% intro periods, and enjoys lower auto‑insurance premiums. A borrower sitting at 660 usually receives mid‑tier loan offers (≈4.5‑5% APR), may be limited to cash‑back cards with modest rewards, and often pays a few hundred dollars more in insurance. Scores near 580 often lead to subprime products - high‑interest personal loans (≈15%+ APR), secured cards with low limits, and significantly higher insurance rates or even outright denial for conventional mortgages.

These patterns mirror the thresholds outlined earlier for mortgage and credit‑card eligibility, confirming that moving just 20‑30 points can shift you from subprime to prime outcomes. If your current FICO 9 falls in the lower bands, the next section shows how quick‑impact tactics can add those crucial points and improve the scenarios you'll see.