Many lenders rely on your FICO score to make credit and lending decisions. While FICO has a multitude of scoring models for different needs, most of the scoring tiers remain the same. You actually have several different FICO scores each with specific scoring models for auto, mortgage, and other specialty lenders. Each scoring model ranges between 300 and 850 and contains a tier that categorizes each potential score. An excellent credit score is anything at or above 800. From 740 to 799 is very good. Between 670 and 739 is good. A score of 580 to 669 is considered fair and anything at or below 580 is considered bad credit. Several factors come into play when determining your credit score. The two most important are your current debt load and payment history. Also included are your account ages, credit mix, and the number of new credit applications you submit (fewer is better). You must master all of these categories to achieve an excellent credit score. That means you have to keep your balances low, make your payments on time, maintain a good mix of different credit accounts, and otherwise have a long history of positive financial behavior with each credit bureau.