The 5 credit score ranges you need to know

Lenders look at your credit score to decide whether to approve you and at what rate to lend you money. To make lending decisions easier, financial institutions categorize borrowers into categories based on their credit scores. 

If you have a FICO credit score, you may know that those scores are grouped into five categories: poor, fair, good, very good and exceptional.

But there's another taxonomy, one used to describe where someone stands in comparison to borrowers who qualify for the best — or "prime" — interest rates.

Credit scores are organized into clusters to give consumers a good idea of their borrowing power. Institutions may group scores differently, however.

FICO, the best known, organizes its credit scores into five ranges.

• Exceptional: 800 to 850
• Very good: 740 to 799
• Good: 670 to 739
• Fair: 580 to 669
• Poor: 300 to 579

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) looks at scores compared to prime.

• Super-prime: 720 or above
• Prime: 660 and 719
• Near prime: 620 and 659
• Subprime: 580 and 619
• Deep subprime: Below 580

Experian, one of the leading credit reporting bureaus, also looks at prime scores but it groups scores differently.

• Super-prime: 781 to 850
• Prime: 661 to 780
• Nonprime: 601 to 660
• Subprime: 501 to 600
• Deep subprime: 300 to 500

VantageScore, a scoring model founded by the three main credit bureaus as an alternative to FICO scores, organizes credit scores into four ranges:

• Super-prime: Above 780
• Prime: 661-780
• Near prime: 601-660
• Subprime: 300-600

As you can see, having prime credit doesn't mean you have a perfect credit score, but it does give you a better chance of approval and of getting the best interest rates.

Someone with super-prime credit poses the least amount of risk to a lender. While a prime borrower may have the same odds of being approved, you'll probably receive a lower interest rate if your score falls into the super-prime category.

"Subprime" refers to borrowers who don't have a good credit score and to financial products that don't require one. The specific threshold varies, but a subprime borrower typically has a FICO score below 620. 

Super-prime and prime borrowers are more likely to qualify for the best credit cards and receive higher credit limits, lower interest rates and more favorable terms. They'll have an easier time financing a college education and borrowing for a car or home.

On the other end, subprime and deep subprime borrowers are less likely to qualify for credit cards and more likely to receive much higher interest rates and have to make bigger down payments.

Though a borrower with prime credit has better approval odds, there are credit cards for every category—including consumers with bad credit or no credit history.

Cards for subprime and deep subprime borrowers

If you're new to credit or working on rebuilding your credit, start with a secured credit card. They don't require a good credit score, but you will likely need to pay a security deposit that acts as your credit limit.

The Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card has no annual fee or foreign transaction fee. Your security deposit could be as low as $49 and you could still qualify for at least a $200 credit limit.

The opensky® Secured Visa® Credit Card doesn't require a credit check and you may be eligible to earn cash back with select retailers, a rare benefit for secured cards.

Cards for near-prime borrowers

If you're working toward being a prime borrower, there are unsecured cards you could consider.

The Petal® 2 "Cash Back, No Fees" Visa® Credit Card has no annual fee, foreign transaction fee or late fee. You can earn up to 1.5% cash back on eligible purchases after making 12 on-time monthly payments.

The Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card earns 1.5% back on every purchase. You can earn unlimited 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.

Cards for prime borrowers

A good credit score opens the doors to some of the best credit cards. We like the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card for its primo travel benefits, including 5 miles for every $1 spent on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel and 2 miles per $1 spent on all other purchases.

There's also up to $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck every four years, plus airport lounge access, travel insurance and a welcome bonus of $250 to use on Capital One Travel in your first cardholder year, plus earn 75,000 bonus miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening - that's equal to $1,000 in travel.

Cards for super-prime borrowers

You don't need excellent credit to qualify for the best cards, but it can get you the lowest interest rate. The Citi Double Cash® Card is a great cash-back card: Cardholders earn 2% on every purchase — an unlimited 1% cash back when you buy something, plus another 1% when you pay for it.

Plus, there's no annual fee and a welcome bonus of 20,000 ThankYou® Points after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first six months of account opening that can be redeemed for $200 cash back.

If you have subprime credit or just want to boost your score, there are several ways to do it.

Pay down your bills

Payment history is the biggest slice of your credit score, so chipping away at credit card bills and other revolving debt can raise your score dramatically. Paying off the entire balance each month will have the biggest and fastest impact.

Increase your credit limit

The balance of how much credit you're utilizing versus your total available credit is another big factor in your credit score. Getting an increase on your current credit card or opening a new card will shrink your credit utilization ratio —. provided you won't be tempted to spend more.

Check your credit report for errors

Nearly a quarter of Americans have errors on their credit reports—including fraudulent or duplicated charges and misreported payments.

You can get free credit reports from Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, the three major credit bureaus, at AnnualCreditReport.com.

There are more sophisticated credit monitoring programs that can check for errors, protect you from identity theft and more. IdentityForce's UltraSecure + Credit plan will alert you about potential fraud on your bank, credit card and investment accounts, as well as the use of your Social Security number, address and other personal data. It also includes a VPN, access to fraud resolution experts and more.

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Petal 2 Visa Credit Card issued by WebBank.

Click here to view the Cardholder Agreement for the opensky® Secured Visa® Credit Card.