Credit Scores Between 620 and 639: Good or Bad?

What does a credit score between 620 and 639 mean?

A credit score in the 620–639 range is higher than the lowest credit score of 300, but it’s still a long way off from the highest credit score of 850. In FICO and VantageScore, the main scoring models used by US credit bureaus, these scores are in the “fair” range.

A credit score of 620 to 639 is still low enough that it can make it hard to open new lines of credit and can damage your quality of life.

How a below-average credit score can affect your finances

Having a credit score between 620 and 639 makes it harder to get approved for a loan or a new line of credit, as shown in the table below. If you do qualify, you’ll end up paying more money for your credit or loan because your lender will charge you a higher interest rate.

Loans and Credit You Can Get with a 620–639 Credit Score

A bad credit score can also affect your life in other ways. For instance, it can limit your job prospects and your options for renting an apartment because many landlords and employers run credit checks. Employers probably won’t see your actual numerical score, but they will be able to see the negative items in your credit history that contributed to it.

Having a low credit score also means you’ll probably end up paying more for services like insurance.

That all might seem bleak, but it’s not as bad as it seems. There are several ways you can improve your credit score once you understand how credit scores work and how they’re calculated.

How your credit score was calculated

As mentioned earlier, the two main credit scoring models are FICO and VantageScore. Although the two models have minor differences, both calculate credit scores based on the following factors:

• Payment history: Late payments lower your credit score. The later the payment, the more damage it will do. Charge-offs, collection accounts, and bankruptcies are even more damaging to your score.
• Credit utilization rate: This refers to the proportion of your available credit that you’re using (also known as your debt-to-credit ratio). A lower utilization rate is better for your credit score. Many experts recommend keeping yours below 30% (meaning you should try not to reach a $3,000 balance on a credit card with a $10,000 limit). VantageScore recommends keeping your credit utilization even lower, under 10% if possible.
• Length of credit history: This is determined by the age of your oldest and newest credit accounts as well as the average age of all of your accounts. Old accounts that you’ve had for many years boost your credit score, whereas new accounts lower it.
• Credit mix: Your credit score will be lower if you don’t have a balanced mix of revolving credit accounts (e.g., credit cards and store credit) and installment accounts (e.g., mortgages, car loans, and student loans).
• New accounts: When you apply for a credit card or loan, the lender will run a credit check. This will trigger a hard inquiry Hard inquiries take a few points off your credit score, and the effect lasts for up to 12 months. Actually opening the account can further hurt your score and have even longer-lasting effects.

If your score is between 620 and 639, it suggests that you may have one (or both) of the following issues with your credit history:

• Derogatory marks: If your credit report has several derogatory marks (negative items in your payment history, such as missed payments or items related to debt collection), they can easily lower your score to .
• Insufficient credit history: A thin credit file can bring down your credit score even if you don’t have many derogatory marks. It could be that you haven’t used your credit enough to establish a positive enough payment history or that you don’t have a good mix of different types of credit.

The good news is that you can recover from both situations. However, before you worry about improving your credit score, it’s important to make sure you’re not doing anything to damage it.

To do this, follow these tips:

• Pay all of your bills on time.
• Avoid opening any new credit accounts.
• Avoid closing old accounts (particularly accounts with a low balance).
• Send a debt validation letter demanding proof of any future debts that anyone tries to collect from you according to your rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).

VantageScore vs. FICO credit score calculation methods

VantageScore and FICO take the same factors into account to produce your score, but they weigh them slightly differently (which is why you might have different credit scores in the two models). Here are just a couple of the differences between FICO and VantageScore:

• VantageScore groups the length of your credit history and your credit mix into one category called Depth of Credit.
• In addition to your credit utilization (represented as a percentage), VantageScore also looks at your current balances and your remaining available credit (represented as dollar figures).

The tables below show how the models weigh your financial decisions to produce your score:

How to improve your credit score

A 620–639 score is somewhat below average, although not drastically so. There are a few reasons why you might have a slightly lower score than you’d like:

• Your credit report has at least one derogatory mark, like an overdue payment on a credit card
• You’re spending too much on your credit cards
• You haven’t been using credit for long and your credit history isn’t very substantial yet

Your score is getting pretty close to the point where a fair credit score becomes a good one. It should be possible to boost it into the next scoring range, at which point your credit and loan options will really open up. However, to achieve this, you have to follow the right strategies. You should look into both:

Quick fixes for your credit score

To fix your credit quickly, you need to check your credit history for black marks and remove them if you can. To do this:

• Visit AnnualCreditReport.com and get your credit reports; you can get free copies of all three once per year
• Dispute any items you find on your credit reports that you suspect may be mistakes, such as supposedly delinquent credit accounts that you don’t recognize or remember opening
• Negotiate with your creditors and/or debt collectors to get your remaining negative marks deleted, which you can do by requesting a goodwill deletion or negotiating pay for delete

To file your initial credit disputes, create a dispute letter with the (free) template below and send it to the credit bureaus reporting the negative items.

If you’re able to remove any of the negative marks dragging down your score below 639, you might be able to bump it into the good range in a matter of months or even weeks, depending on how fast your disputes are processed.

Strategies to build your credit in the long run

You should also look into methods for building your credit in a sustainable way over time. The methods listed above are great for removing negative marks that are artificially lowering your score, but there’s more to achieving a healthy credit score than that.

Try to:

• Use your credit accounts regularly and responsibly to add positive information (such as on-time payments) to your credit reports. If you don’t have any credit accounts, you may want to look for ones that are targeted at people who are trying to build credit, such as secured credit cards and credit-builder loans. However, your score is good enough that you can also get a normal credit card or loan if you prefer.
• Practice good credit habits in the future. Use your credit in moderation and pay off your credit cards in full each month before your due date.
• Do your best to get out of debt. There’s no easier way to tank your score than to let your debts spiral out of control.
• Add alternative data to your credit report with Experian Boost or a third-party (paid) service that reports your rental payments, such as PayYourRent or eCredable.

How long will it take for your score to improve past the 620–639 range?

If you execute the strategies listed above, you may see a boost in your score in a matter of weeks or months. This will be especially likely if you’re able to pay down large balances on your credit cards or get negative items deleted from your credit reports. You’ll also see a slower but ultimately more significant increase over the next 1 to 2 years.

Negative items stay on your credit reports for up to 7 years (except for some bankruptcies, which can stay for 10). The upshot is that in 7–10 years, even if you have mishaps in your past, your score is certain to have completely recovered—provided you take the right steps to rebuild your credit.

Life with a credit score between 620 and 639

Unless your low credit score is a mistake caused by major errors on your credit report, you might remain in the “fair” range for at least the next few months.

Until your score improves, avoid taking out any unnecessary loans to ensure that you won’t sabotage your progress by accumulating debt that you can’t pay off.

Getting auto loans with a credit score between 620 and 639

There is no credit score too low to get an auto loan, and you should be able to get one when your credit score falls into this range, but it might have a relatively high interest rate. Before taking out an auto loan, consider whether the potential toll it’ll take on your finances is worth it or if you can wait until you get your score in the “good” range.

According to a 2020 quarterly report by Experian, people with credit scores of 620–660 (referred to as near–prime borrowers) had average interest rates of 10.13% on their used car loans and 6.64% on new car loans, whereas people with credit scores of 781–850 (super-prime borrowers) received average rates of 3.80% and 2.65%. Waiting until your score improves could save you hundreds of dollars each month and thousands of dollars over the life of the loan.

If you need to buy a car before your credit improves, then consider getting a used car that you can pay for upfront.

If you’re set on getting an auto loan with bad credit, then you should pay as large of a down payment as you can afford, and consider getting prequalified or applying for a preapproval from your bank or credit union to increase your bargaining power.

Getting a mortgage with a credit score between 620 and 639

You’re eligible for most types of mortgages if you have a credit score in this range. The following are all the mortgages you can get and their requirements:

• FHA loan: The minimum credit score to get a mortgage backed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is 500, and you can get a mortgage with a down payment of only 3.5% if your credit score is 580 or higher. It’s worth noting that you won’t be eligible for an FHA-backed loan if you had a foreclosure in the past three years or filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy in the past two years.
• Conventional mortgage: There’s no universal minimum credit score required for a conventional mortgage. However, many lenders follow the guidelines set out by the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac), both of which require a minimum credit score of 620.
• VA loan: VA loans are exclusively for members of the military (both current and former) and their families. The US Department of Veteran Affairs doesn’t impose a minimum credit score requirement for a VA loan. They instead leave it up to lenders, whose credit score requirements vary widely, often from 580 (e.g., Caliber Home Loans) to 620 (e.g., Quicken Loans). You probably won’t be eligible if your credit history shows a foreclosure or bankruptcy within the past year or two.

Aside from these mortgages, there are also USDA loans, which generally require a credit score of 640 or higher. However, you might be able to get around this requirement if you can provide supporting documentation of your payment history, and your application will need to be carefully reviewed. You won’t be eligible if you have an outstanding judgment, and you might have a hard time qualifying if your credit history shows a foreclosure, bankruptcy, or debt settlement in the past 36 months.

If you have negative items on your credit report that make you ineligible for a mortgage, you’ll probably need to rent an apartment.

Renting with a credit score between 620 and 639

You often need a credit score to rent a house or apartment since many landlords run credit checks on prospective tenants. There’s no universal minimum credit score for tenants, but many landlords look for a score above 600.

If your credit score doesn’t satisfy the landlord’s requirements, consider discussing your circumstances with them and showing them evidence that you’ll reliably pay your rent on time each month.

Getting a credit account with a credit score between 620 and 639

With a credit score that falls between 620–639, you’ll be able to get a credit card, but you might not have a lot of options other than subprime credit cards, and you won’t be able to get rates as good as those offered to people in higher credit score ranges.

The types of credit cards you can get with a credit score like this generally fall into two categories:

• Secured credit cards: With these cards, creditors mitigate their risk by requiring you to pay a security deposit, which they’ll keep if you default on your debt.
• Unsecured cards with high interest rates: With these, creditors compensate for the lack of a security deposit by charging very high interest rates and additional fees (e.g., inactivity fees).

Given the choice between those two options, a secured credit card is always your best bet if your main goal is to build your credit. Unsecured subprime credit cards can be dangerous because their high interest rates and fees might jeopardize your finances.

Don’t apply for a credit card if you know your credit score doesn’t meet the company’s requirements. Most applications will trigger a “hard inquiry,” which will cause your score to temporarily drop. To find out if the card issuer has a minimum credit score, check their website or give them a call.