Will checking my rate affect my credit score? (2024)

FAQs

Will checking my rate affect my credit score? ›

In the United States, checking your credit does not affect your credit score. Only applying for credit (i.e. having a hard credit inquiry), will in fact impact your credit score.

Checking your credit reports or credit scores will not impact credit scores. Regularly checking your credit reports and credit scores is a good way to ensure information is accurate. Hard inquiries in response to a credit application do impact credit scores.

A soft credit inquiry, also called a soft credit check or soft pull, is usually done by you or another authorized person, like an employer. Soft credit inquiries don't affect your credit score because you're not actually applying for credit, and these types of inquiries don't necessarily require your permission.

Checking your credit score will not have an effect on it. Requesting a copy of your credit report or checking your credit score is often called a “soft inquiry.” Potential lenders cannot see soft inquiries when they view your credit report. But, you may still see them on your report for 12 to 24 months.

You can check your credit score as often as you want without hurting your credit, and it's a good idea to do so regularly. At the very minimum, it's a good idea to check before applying for credit, whether it's a home loan, auto loan, credit card or something else.

Since hard inquiries affect your credit score and what is found may even affect approval, you might be wondering: How many inquiries is too many? The answer differs from lender to lender, but most consider six total inquiries on a report at one time to be too many to gain approval for an additional credit card or loan.

Get your credit report online

You may access your credit report online for free with Equifax and TransUnion. Accessing your credit report online allows you to see it right away. Other companies may also offer to provide your credit report for free.

Why does your credit score go down when you check it? Checking your own credit doesn't affect it. But your score could go down if someone else checks it. That would happen if you applied for a loan, credit card or perhaps an apartment.

For a score with a range between 300 and 850, a credit score of 700 or above is generally considered good. A score of 800 or above on the same range is considered to be excellent. Most consumers have credit scores that fall between 600 and 750. In 2023, the average FICO^® Score^☉ in the U.S. reached 715.

While achieving a CIBIL Score of 900 is technically possible, it is extremely rare. Scores above 760 are considered very good or exceptional, providing significant benefits such as lower interest rates and higher chances of loan approval.

Is 650 a good credit score? ›

As someone with a 650 credit score, you are firmly in the “fair” territory of credit. You can usually qualify for financial products like a mortgage or car loan, but you will likely pay higher interest rates than someone with a better credit score. The "good" credit range starts at 690.

When your score is 750, you're in a strong position to qualify for most financial products and get among the very best rates on them. A 750 credit score is considered excellent on commonly used FICO and VantageScore scales, which range from 300 to 850.

In most cases, hard inquiries have very little if any impact on your credit scores—and they have no effect after one year from the date the inquiry was made. So when a hard inquiry is removed from your credit reports, your scores may not improve much—or see any movement at all.

You can start by going to the three major credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion first by logging on to AnnualCreditReport.com to check your report for free. Each agency gives you access to your report once every 12 months.

Your checking account usually has no impact on your credit score. Normal day-to-day use of your checking account, such as making deposits, writing checks, withdrawing funds, or transferring money to other accounts, does not appear on your credit report.

If you're still unsure, we have good news: you can easily check what your interest rate may be for a new loan without harming your credit score, and without any commitment to apply. The way you do this is through what's called a “soft credit pull,” as opposed to a “hard credit pull.”

Using more of your credit card balance than usual — even if you pay on time — can reduce your score until a new, lower balance is reported the following month. Closed accounts and lower credit limits can also result in lower scores even if your payment behavior has not changed.

Checking your free credit scores on Credit Karma doesn't hurt your credit. These credit score checks are known as soft inquiries, which don't affect your credit at all. Hard inquiries (also known as “hard pulls”) generally happen when a lender checks your credit while reviewing your application for a financial product.