FICO, or Fair Isaac Corporation, is a data analytics company best known for its credit scoring model. As the FICO’s official website says, the FICO® Score is currently used by 90 of the top 100 largest U.S. lending institutions.

FICO scores range from 300 to 850. A 300-639 score is considered bad, a 640-699 score is fair or average, a 700-749 score is good, and a 750-850 score is excellent. The score below 300 is called limited and is generally typical for those who haven’t managed to start building their credit history yet, e.g. young people or immigrants.

Having good or excellent credit score is something everyone should strive for. First of all, scores determine whether you qualify for a credit card, personal loan or another credit offer. The higher score you have, the more likely you are to be approved and get better terms. In addition, credit score may be one of the important factors considered when getting a job and renting an apartment.

Recently, FICO reported that the average national credit score has reached 706 breaking all previous records. It means Americans have better creditworthiness than ever before. Having this score, you can safely count on getting approved for a majority of credit products and on more favorable terms. Therefore, all enticing benefits like big rewards, amazing sign-up bonuses, low interest rates and others tend to become yours.

According to the company official, such an increase in scores is due to improvement of people’s financial literacy. More and more credit product owners in the U.S. are beginning to reflect on their finances and understand the importance of sound financial behavior and credit monitoring. All this leads to more effective personal money management and higher credit scores as a result.