4 Traits of Americans With a Perfect 850 Credit Score

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Under the widely used FICO® Score system, the highest possible score is 850. Only 1.54% of Americans have a perfect 850 credit score, according to recent research by Experian.

You don't need perfect credit, but having a high credit score comes with lots of benefits. It could help you qualify for credit cards with the most benefits , low-interest loans, and even lower insurance rates.

Experian's research also looked at characteristics of Americans with an 850 credit score. Knowing how this group manages credit could help with improving your own. Here are four traits they share.

1. They have more credit cards

Consumers as a whole have an average of 3.9 credit cards per person. Consumers with perfect credit have an average of 5.8 credit cards.

If you've ever heard the myth that having too many credit cards is bad for your credit, this might come as a surprise. The number of credit cards you have actually isn't one of the factors used to calculate your credit score.

Carrying several credit cards isn't necessary for a high credit score, but it can have financial benefits. Consumers who like travel credit cards or cash back cards often open multiple cards to maximize rewards. For example, many of these cards have welcome offers for new cardholders, so opening more cards means you'll have more bonus opportunities.

The downside is that it's harder to manage multiple credit cards. But this generally isn't a problem for people with perfect credit.

2. They keep their balances low

Even though Americans with perfect credit have more credit cards, they spend much less. The average credit card balance is $6,501. Among those with perfect credit, it's less than half that: $3,028.

As a result, these consumers also have much lower credit utilization. Your credit utilization is your credit card balances divided by your credit limits, and it's one of the most important factors in your credit score. For example, if you have $2,500 in balances and $10,000 in credit limits, your credit utilization would be 25%.

The average credit utilization is 29%. That's pretty good -- a popular rule of thumb is to keep your credit utilization under 30%. But lower is better, and people with perfect credit have an average credit utilization of just 4%.

That's in part because they spend less, but the fact that they have more credit cards also helps. When you have more credit cards, you'll also have more total credit, which keeps your credit utilization lower.

3. They have perfect payment history

Nothing affects your credit score more than your payment history. If you pay credit cards and loans on time, it's good for your credit. If you pay late, it can potentially take over 100 points off your credit score.

The average consumer has 1.5 accounts that have been delinquent on their credit history. Among consumers with perfect credit, the average is zero -- no late payments, ever.

Late payments only count against your credit score when they're at least 30 days past due. Before that, the creditor can charge you a late fee, but it can't report the payment as late on your credit history. If you're a few days late on a payment, it's not going to hurt your credit, as long as you get caught up before the 30-day mark.

4. They're older

Baby boomers and older consumers make up 66% of the consumers with perfect credit. Generation X is another 26%. That means 92% of the people with perfect credit are in their mid-40s or older.

In addition to how you manage your credit, your credit score is also based on how long you've been using credit. You're not going to have perfect credit after doing everything right for a year. You just won't have a long enough credit history yet.

If you're new to credit, be patient. Focus on paying on time and keeping your credit utilization low. Ideally, pay your credit card bill in full to keep your utilization low and avoid interest charges. It may take a couple of years, but following these habits will eventually lead to a high credit score.

There's nothing complicated about building and maintaining a high credit score. The key factors are your payment history, your credit utilization, and the length of your credit history. Consumers with perfect credit do exceptionally well in each of these areas. They also tend to have more credit cards, but that's likely because they want more benefits, rather than to help their credit scores.

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