What your score means
The lender's floor rate, fastest approval and the highest limits.
Best published rates at most banks. This is the practical target.
Approved, but priced 0.5% to 2% higher and scrutinised more closely.
Mainstream banks hesitate. NBFCs approve at a premium.
Unsecured lending is generally declined. Secured options stay open.
What moves your score
- Repayment history, about 35%. A single payment thirty days late can cost 50 to 80 points and stays on your report for years.
- Credit utilisation, about 30%. Keep card balances under 30% of the limit — the fastest lever available, visible within a billing cycle or two.
- Credit age, about 15%. Closing your oldest card to tidy up actively hurts you.
- Credit mix, about 10%. A blend of secured and unsecured credit reads better than cards alone.
- Recent enquiries, about 10%. Several applications in a short window signal credit hunger.
Read the full guide
Our credit score guide covers every fix in detail, with realistic timelines for each — including what to do about a settled account, and how to build a score from nothing.
Credit score questions
Yes. Every bureau must provide one free full credit report a year, and checking your own score is a soft enquiry that never affects it. Be wary of any service that charges for a routine score check.
No. Checking your own score is a soft enquiry with no effect whatsoever, no matter how often you do it. Only formal applications with lenders create hard enquiries.
750 and above gets you the best published rates at most banks. Between 700 and 750 you will usually be approved at a higher rate, and below 650 most mainstream unsecured lending is declined.
Cutting card utilisation below 30% can show within one or two billing cycles. Recovering from a missed payment takes six to twelve months of clean conduct, and a settled-account marker can affect you for several years.