668 Credit Score: Is it Good or Bad?

A FICO® Score of 668 places you within a population of consumers whose credit may be seen as Fair. Your 668 FICO® Score is lower than the average U.S. credit score.





Some lenders dislike those odds and choose not to work with individuals whose FICO® Scores fall within this range. Lenders focused on "subprime" borrowers, on the other hand, may seek out consumers with scores in the Fair range, but they typically charge high fees and steep interest rates. Consumers with FICO® Scores in the good range (670-739) or higher are generally offered significantly better borrowing terms.

How to improve your 668 Credit Score

The average FICO® Score is 704, somewhat higher than your score of 668, which means you've got a great opportunity to improve.

70% of U.S. consumers' FICO® Scores are higher than 668.


The best approach to improving your credit score starts with a check of your FICO® Score. The report that's delivered with the score will use details from your unique credit report to suggest ways you can increase your score. If you focus on the issues spelled out in the report and adopt habits that promote good credit scores, you may see steady score improvements, and the broader access to credit that often comes with them.

Moving past a Fair credit score

While everyone with a FICO® Score of 668 gets there by his or her own unique path, people with scores in the Fair range often have experienced credit-management challenges.

The credit reports of 41% of Americans with a FICO® Score of 668 include late payments of 30 days past due.




What's in a credit score?




Among consumers with a FICO® Score of 668, the average credit card debt is $13,429.






Improving Your Credit Score

Fair credit scores can't be turned into exceptional ones overnight, and only the passage of time can repair some negative issues that contribute to Fair credit scores, such as bankruptcy and foreclosure. No matter the reason for your Fair score, you can start immediately to improve the ways you handle credit, which can lead in turn to credit-score improvements.

Look into obtaining a secured credit card. A secured credit card requires you to put down a deposit in the full amount of your spending limit—typically a few hundred dollars. Confirm that the As you use the card and make regular payments, the lender reports your activity to the national credit bureaus, where they are recorded in your credit files. (Making timely payments and avoiding "maxing out" the card will favor credit-score improvements.

Consider a credit-builder loan. Available from many credit unions, these loans take can several forms, but all are designed to help improve personal credit histories. In one popular version, the credit union places the money you borrow in a savings account, where it earns interest but is inaccessible to you until the loan is paid off. Once you've paid the loan in full, you get access to the funds and the accumulated interest. It's a clever savings tool, but the credit union also reports your payments to national credit bureaus, so regular, on-time payments can lead to credit-score improvements. (Check before taking out a loan to make sure the lender reports to all three national credit bureaus.)

Consider a debt-management plan. For families with finances stretched too thin to keep up with debt payments, a debt-management plan (DMP) can bring much-needed relief. Getting one requires you to work with a qualified credit counseling agency, who negotiates with your creditors to set up a workable repayment plan. It's a serious step that significantly lowers your credit score and effectively closes all your credit accounts, but it's less severe than bankruptcy, and it can help families in dires straits get back on their feet. Even if you decide a DMP isn't for you, meeting with a credit counselor (not a credit-repair company) may give you some new tools for building up your credit.

Pay your bills on time. Late and missed payments hurt credit scores, so avoid them. Take advantage of automatic payments, calendar alarms, and other automated tools—or just use sticky notes and a paper calendar. Do whatever you can to help you remember, and you'll soon take on good habits that favor credit-score improvements.

Avoid high credit utilization rates. High credit utilization, or debt usage. The FICO? scoring system bases about 30% of your credit score on this measurement—the percentage of your available credit limit represented by your outstanding payment balances. Try to keep your utilization across all your accounts below about 30% to avoid lowering your score.

Among consumers with FICO® credit scores of 668, the average utilization rate is 63.1%.

Try to establish a solid credit mix. You shouldn't take on debt you don't need, but prudent borrowing that includes a combination of revolving credit and installment debt, can be beneficial to your credit score.

Learn more about your credit score


How Good Is Your Credit Score?
