Check my credit score > Is 888 a good Experian credit score?

Is 888 a good Experian credit score?

Wollit Team4 minutes read · Updated 24th September 2024

Your credit score of 888 falls into the second best band with Experian, UK’s largest credit reference agency. This band is called “Good”.

What does a credit score of 888 mean?

In the UK, credit scores are calculated by three main credit reference agencies: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. Each agency has its own way of calculating credit scores, which means that if you check your credit score with all of them, you’ll see not one, but three different credit scores.

These agencies also split their scores into different bands to help people understand how lenders see them.

A “Good” credit score is the rating right below the very best one on the Experian credit score range. Your credit score is in this band if it’s between 880 and 960. TransUnion has a similar band, also called “Good”, although their credit score range is different (0 to 710 instead of 0 to 999 as it is with Experian).

Equifax has a band called “Good” too, although for them it’s the middle credit score band since they name things differently. In other words, if you’re checking a score of 888 on Equifax or ClearScore, it means something else entirely. We’re only looking at the Experian score in this guide, since it’s the largest agency and one that most people are familiar with. You can easily get your Experian credit score for free, too.

With Experian, a ”Good” credit score tells lenders that you are a pretty responsible borrower. To get your credit score into this band you need to show a consistent payment history, low credit balances, no defaults, and only the very occasional late payment. These habits are essential for maintaining a healthy credit profile and are likely to be viewed favourably by lenders.

What does a credit score of 888 mean for my money?

Having a “Good” credit score comes with a few benefits:

• Lenders view you as a lower-risk borrower, which means it’s more likely that you’ll be approved for the best credit cards, loans, mortgages, and other kinds of credit.
• You may be offered lower interest rates compared to people with lower credit scores. This can save you quite a bit of money over the life of a loan, mortgage, or credit card.
• Lenders may be willing to give you higher credit limits as well. This can improve your credit utilisation ratio and further boost your credit score.
• A “Good” credit score can also make you a more attractive tenant to landlords and letting agencies, making it easier to rent a home.
• Some insurance providers use credit scores to determine rates. A higher credit score can lead to lower premiums for car, home, or life insurance.

In other words, even if it’s not the highest Experian credit score band, a “Good” credit score of 888 puts you in a strong position and opens up more opportunities when it comes to borrowing money, renting a home, or getting better deals.

However, “better” doesn’t mean “best”, and the difference can be significant.

For example, a small jump of 0.5% in APR for a fairly average £400,000 mortgage taken for 30 years can add up to almost £50,000 over the entire life of the mortgage. That’s a big amount to pay simply for not having the very best credit score.

This is why it’s so important to continue working on your credit score and to not let labels like “Good” make you think that your score is where it needs to be.

How to improve a credit score of 888?

A few things you can do:

• Avoid making too many applications. Each credit application requires a hard credit check, and having more than two in a six month period can actually lower your credit score.
• Register to vote at your current address, and update your registration every time you move. This helps credit agencies and lenders verify your identity.
• Don’t max out your credit cards. In fact, try to stick to having balances lower than 25% of your credit card limit. This is Experian’s recommended threshold for seeing a positive impact on your credit score.
• And make sure you have credit agreements that you pay regularly and on time so you can continue building your credit history.

The good news is that now there are many apps that can help you do this. One such app is Wollit.

Wollit is available on both iOS and Android, and it reports your monthly subscription as loan repayment to all three main credit reference agencies, helping you maintain and even improve your credit history, which is the main factor that matters for your credit score.

Eventually, you should be able move into the next credit score band and save hundreds of thousands of pounds in interest.