Here's what it takes to achieve an 800 credit score, according to financial experts

Achieving a credit score of 800 or higher can help unlock the lowest interest rates for products ranging from auto loans to credit cards, but only one in four Americans has managed to reach that level, according to credit bureau Experian. 

Lenders typically view scores above 800 as "exceptional," a signal that a borrower consistently pays bills on time and manages debt responsibly. Most banks rely on the FICO score, developed by Fair Isaac Corp., which ranges from 300 to a maximum of 850, to assess a consumer's creditworthiness.

Hitting that 800-point milestone may be more critical in 2026 than ever before.

The new urgency stems from President Trump's recent push for a 10% cap on credit card interest rates. While the proposal aims to save consumers money, industry trade groups such as the Electronic Payments Coalition warn that a cap could lead lenders to reduce credit limits or even cancel cards for borrowers with credit scores below 740. 

"Credit scores are really far-reaching in our financial lives. It's a part of the puzzle a lender uses to determine whether or not to lend to you, whether it's a credit card, personal loan, mortgage or beyond,"  Courtney Alev, a consumer financial advocate at Credit Karma, a personal finance firm that offers free credit scores, told CBS News. 

She added, "Anyone applying for credit should take every step they can to improve their score to get the lowest interest rates from lenders." 

What's a good credit score?

Here's the range of credit scores and the share of consumers in each tranche, according to credit bureau Experian:

• Poor (300-579): 14.2%
• Fair (580-669): 14.9%
• Good (670-739): 20.4%
• Very good (740-799): 27.5%
• Exceptional (800-850): 23%

Only 2% of Americans have achieved the top FICO score of 850, Experian says. But you don't need to have a perfect score to get better rates from lenders, financial experts note.

A credit score in the high 600s or above 700 is considered good, according to Matt Schulz, a personal finance expert at online lending marketplace LendingTree.

"The higher you can get above 700, the better you are," he said. 

Cynthia Chen, CEO of Kikoff, a financial technology company that helps people build credit, said that any score above 760 can unlock access to the best credit products.

How can I boost my score to 800?

According to Experian, your FICO score is determined by five key factors, each carrying a different weight:

• Payment history: 35%
• Amounts owed, also known as "credit utilization": 30%
• Length of credit history: 15%
• Credit mix: 10%
• Recent credit applications: 10%

Because payment history is the most impactful of these factors, accounting for 35% of your total credit score, experts emphasize that consistently paying accounts on time is the single most important step you can take.

Indeed, a single late payment to your credit card issuer could knock off 50 or more points from your credit score, according to Schulz. 

To avoid making any late payments, Schulz and other experts recommend automating bill payment, although they stress that it's still important to monitor bills for mistakes and to ensure that the payments are actually made.

"That takes some pressure off of you," Schulz said. 

Keep your balance low

If you can't pay your bill in full when it comes due, try to keep the balance, or your credit utilization rate, as low as possible. 

Your utilization rate measures how much of your available credit you've used. For example, if you made a $1,500 purchase with a $2,000 credit limit, your credit utilization rate would be quite high, at 75%. High credit utilization can take points off your score because lenders could see it as a signal of financial risk.  

"Just because you can borrow up to a certain amount doesn't mean you should. When it comes to credit cards, you should only be borrowing what you can pay off in full at the end of the month," financial consultant Steve Azoury, owner of Michigan-based Azoury Financial, told CBS News. 

According to Experian, people with exceptional credit scores, in the 800 to 850 range, have an average credit utilization rate of just over 7%. 

Alev of Credit Karma encourages consumers to aim to keep their rates below 10%. People with utilization rates above 30% can see "meaningful negative implications" on their credit scores, she said.

While keeping your credit utilization low won't guarantee a top credit score, it is one of the most heavily weighted components.

Limit applications for credit

Avoid applying for too much credit, too often. Whenever you apply for new credit, a lender pulls your credit file or runs a so-called hard inquiry on your credit report, which affects your score. 

Each hard inquiry can knock off roughly five points from your credit score, meaning that multiple inquiries in a short period of time can have a large impact, according to Experian.

Build a credit history

The length of consumers' credit histories factors into their FICO scores, too. More than half of the people with 800-plus credit scores are older than 60, according to Experian, in part because they have established long track records of paying their bills on time. 

One way for a relatively new account holder to quickly build a credit history and demonstrate consistent payment behavior is to set recurring subscriptions, such as streaming plans or gym memberships, to autopay. 

"If you pay it every single month, that builds payment history. You don't need to put a lot of charges on a card, but you need to show that behavior of consistent, on-time payments," Alev told CBS News. 

Kikoff's Chen said that consumers with only a few months of credit history should not expect to achieve a score of 800 or above right away, as all borrowers start with relatively low scores that take time to build.

"Scoring models want you to demonstrate your creditworthiness over the long term," she said. "They need history to get to that level of comfort."

Mix up your credit types

Managing a variety of credit types, such as credit cards, auto loans and mortgages, can help boost your credit score. 

"Credit mix is important because a lender wants to know how you do with different types of credit, and not just a personal loan or a credit card," Chen of Kikoff said. "If you have a mortgage or an auto loan, the credit scoring model gives you points for that."