740 Credit Score: Is It Good or Bad?
A 740 score falls into the excellent range. You can get among the very best rates on credit cards and loans.
Many, or all, of the products featured on this page are from our advertising partners who compensate us when you take certain actions on our website or click to take an action on their website. However, this does not influence our evaluations. Our opinions are our own. Here is a list of our partners and here's how we make money.
Updated · 1 min read
Written by
Contributing Writer 
Edited by
Lead Assigning Editor 
A 740 credit score is considered to lie within the excellent range of scores. Lenders look at your credit score to see if you qualify for financial products like credit cards and loans and to determine your interest rate.
Credit scoring company FICO doesn't break down how many people had a score of 740.
This is how your 740 credit score can affect your financial life.
Track your credit score in 2025 with the NerdWallet app
When your score changes, our app tells you why — and suggests what to do in the future.
» MORE: What are the credit score ranges?
You can get the best rates on financial products
A 740 credit score means you will typically qualify for most financial products and get low rates.
If you are still pretty new to credit, however, that may not be the case. Lenders also consider how long you’ve had credit and how much debt you carry.
Learn more about the factors that influence your score, so you know what matters most in maintaining your access to the best credit products.
Track your credit score with the NerdWallet app
Track your budget, finances and credit - all in one place and all for free.
Ways to protect your 740 credit score
Your score is high because you already follow excellent credit habits. The following tips will help you maintain your score and maybe even take it higher, especially if you like the challenge of going for 850, the highest credit score on most scales.
- Consider setting up automatic payments. A single late payment can knock as much as 100 points off your score. If you don’t use automatic payments, consider setting them up to avoid the risk of missing a payment and wrecking your score.
- Keep an eye on credit utilization. Use less of your credit limits because that is an important factor in your score. You can make multiple payments throughout a single billing cycle to keep utilization consistently low. Ideally, below 30% is good across your credit cards, and the lower, the better for your score.
- Watch for errors on your credit reports. Mistakes on credit reports are common and they can prevent your score from going higher. You have free weekly access to credit reports at all three major credit bureaus. Dispute any errors you find with the bureaus.
Article sources
NerdWallet writers are subject matter authorities who use primary,
trustworthy sources to inform their work, including peer-reviewed
studies, government websites, academic research and interviews with
industry experts. All content is fact-checked for accuracy,
timeliness and relevance. You can learn more about NerdWallet's
high standards for journalism by reading our
editorial guidelines.
Related articles
