Your credit score impacts the financial opportunities you can qualify for. Having a high credit score can help you get approved for credit cards, loans, and mortgages. It will also make you eligible for better rates and terms. On the other hand, a low credit score can stand in your way when trying to qualify for these opportunities.
If your credit score is lower than you’d like, you may be scouring the internet looking for ways to improve it. While building a high credit score takes time and consistency, you can speed up the process by taking the right steps.
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13 Tips to Improve Your Credit Score Fast
Here are 13 steps you can take to boost your credit score and begin qualifying for better rates, terms, and opportunities.
#1 Understand Which Factors Impact Your Credit Score
Before you can improve your credit score, you need to know which factors impact it. This way, you can make the changes to your credit management habits that will have the greatest impact and assure a positive outcome.
In the United States, 90% of top lenders look at credit scores that are calculated using the FICO scoring model. Your FICO credit score is based on the following factors:
- 35% – Payment history
- 30% – Credit utilization
- 15% – Length of credit history
- 10% – Credit mix
- 10% – New credit inquiries
Based on these factors, the following credit management habits can help you cultivate a high credit score:
- Make all your credit payments on time
- Don’t spend too much of your credit limit (ideally, never more than 30%)
- Use credit for a long time (and do not close old accounts) to showcase your experience
- Get experience using a variety of credit accounts (both revolving and installment)
- Keep your new credit inquiries to a minimum
#2 Check Your Credit Score
Once you understand how credit scores are calculated, it’s time to take a closer look at your score and pinpoint exactly which factors need immediate attention.
There are several online resources you can use to check your credit score for free. AnnualCreditReport.com enables you to check yours for free once a year, while also giving you access to your credit report from each of the major credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.
Once you have your credit reports in front of you, ask yourself the following questions:
- Do I have any late or missed payments?
- Have any payments gone to collections?
- What percentage of my total credit limit am I currently using?
- How old are my open credit accounts?
- What types of credit accounts do I currently have open?
- Have I applied for new credit within the past six months?
- Do I have any bankruptcies or foreclosures?
Familiarizing yourself with your credit data will allow you to identify which changes you need to make going forward, whether that’s catching up on missed payments or reducing your credit utilization.
#3 Dispute Any Errors on Your Credit Report
Occasionally, lenders may report inaccurate information to the credit bureaus by accident. Over 30% of Americans have at least one error on their credit report. If you’re one of them, this reporting error may be dragging down your credit score.
When reviewing your credit report, if you notice any mistakes you can dispute them with the associated credit bureau. No error is too small to dispute. Some of the most common credit report errors to watch out for are:
- Inaccurate names, phone numbers, or addresses
- Credit accounts that don’t belong to you
- Inaccurate credit account statuses
- Duplicate debts
- Misreported payments
- Incorrect credit balances or credit limits
After you file a dispute, the credit bureau will reach out to your lender to investigate the error. If your lender can’t prove that the data is accurate, the credit bureau is required to remove the error from your credit report. Once it’s removed, your credit score should be able to adjust to its accurate number.
#4 Get Your Payment History Back on Track
Since your payment history is the most influential factor that impacts your credit score, you want to make sure it’s in great shape.
If your payment history isn’t perfect, here are some steps to help you improve it:
- Pay off any late payments right away – A late payment is any missed payment that’s over 30 days late. The later the missed payment, the worse it is for your credit score. To avoid a negative impact on your score, you should try to pay back late payments as soon as you can.
- Find out if your lenders are willing to remove late payments – Even after you pay them off, late payments can remain on your credit report for up to seven years. Fortunately, their impact on your credit score will decrease as time goes on. Even so, you can increase your credit score faster by getting them removed early. All you need to do is ask your lender politely if they’d be willing to remove them. There’s no guarantee that your creditor will oblige this request, but if they do, it can make a notable difference in your credit score.
- Develop a payment system that works for you – Going forward, you should set up a system that makes it easier for you to make your payments on time. Here are a few effective strategies:
- Establish a reliable bill filing system (either paper or digital)
- Create calendar alerts to remind you of your payment due dates
- Set up automatic payments for each credit account’s minimum payment
If you’re struggling to afford a credit payment, you should always reach out to your lender before it’s due. They may be willing to put you on a payment plan and agree to keep the late payment off your credit report in return.
Once your payment history is back on track, your credit score should start improving gradually over time. However, if you had a very poor payment history to start with (multiple collections accounts, bankruptcies, etc.), you may have to wait for negative marks to fall off your credit report before you see significant improvements in your score. Negative marks typically remain on your credit report for seven years.
#5 Address Your Collection Accounts
If you fail to make up a missed payment for several months, your lender may sell your debt to a third-party collection agency. These debt collectors reach out persistently until you pay off your outstanding balance. They’ll also report your collection accounts to the credit bureaus.
Collection accounts can harm your credit score for up to seven years. However, you may be able to remove collection accounts from your credit reports early, expediting your credit score’s recovery. Simply ask your debt collector if they would be willing to delete the collection account from your credit reports in exchange for your payment.
Even if you can’t get a collection account removed, paying it off has many benefits. Not only can it prevent impending lawsuits from creditors, but it can also boost your chances of getting approved for future financing. Better yet, paying off your collection accounts can have a direct impact on your credit score’s improvement if it’s calculated using the following credit scoring models:
- FICO 9
- FICO 10
- VantageScore 3.0
- VantageScore 4.0
Note: When it comes to credit scores, medical debt is treated a little differently. As of 2023, medical debt collection accounts with balances below $500 and paid medical collection accounts are no longer featured on credit reports.
#6 Reduce Your Credit Utilization
Your credit utilization ratio compares how much credit you’re using to the amount of credit you have access to. For example, if you have a combined credit limit of $1,000 and your current credit balance is $350, your credit utilization would be 35%.
Since credit utilization is the second most impactful factor in the FICO credit scoring model, reducing yours can help you increase your credit score quickly. Ideally, you should always keep your credit utilization below 30%. If you can keep it under 10%, even better.
Tips to Lower Your Credit Utilization
Here are a few ways to reduce your credit utilization and boost your credit score:
- Pay down revolving credit card debt – If you’re in a lot of credit card debt, you need to make paying it down a priority. Reducing your total debt balance will help you maintain a lower credit utilization. While you’re tackling your debt, you may need to be a little more frugal so you have extra funds to put towards your debt payments. This temporary sacrifice will be well worth it when it increases your credit score.
- Spend sparingly – Once you’re no longer in a lot of debt, you can maintain a low credit utilization by using your credit card sparingly. Try to keep its utilization below 10%.
- Set up high balance alerts – Some credit card companies allow you to set up alerts to let you know when you’ve reached a certain balance. By setting alerts at your desired credit utilization amount (ideally 10% as mentioned above), you can maintain an optimal credit utilization with ease.
- Make multiple payments during the month – Your credit utilization is calculated using the balance that’s shown on your monthly credit card statement. You can lower this amount by making multiple payments throughout your billing cycle. This tip is especially helpful if you make a large, one-time purchase on your credit card that pushes your credit utilization past 30%. You can also achieve a similar end by scheduling your credit card payment to post right before the end of your billing cycle. This way, your reported balance will be at its lowest.
- Ask your lenders for credit limit increases – Keeping your spending low is only one side of the credit utilization equation. The other half involves your credit limit. By increasing your credit limit, you can lower your credit utilization instantly. Generally, you can request a credit limit increase from your lender every six months if you haven’t been maxing out your credit card. Just give your lender a call or request one online. It should only take a few minutes to fulfill the request. Your lender may or may not need to do a hard inquiry to grant you the credit limit increase, so make sure to ask beforehand. Hard inquiries can temporarily lower your credit score, though the credit limit increase may still be worth it in the long run.
- Apply for a new credit card – Another way you can increase your credit limit is to open a brand new credit card. If you have fewer than three credit cards, this may be a worthwhile option. Remember: a new credit application will also result in a hard inquiry into your credit report!
#7 Keep Old Credit Card Accounts Open
Once you’ve paid down your debt and optimized your credit utilization, you may be tempted to close one or more of your credit card accounts. If credit score improvement is your aim, you should avoid closing your credit card accounts if possible.
Even if you rarely use them, old credit card accounts can benefit your credit score by:
- Preserving your length of credit history – Closing a credit card account removes its age from your average length of credit history, which can lower your credit score.
- Maintaining a higher credit limit – Your old credit card’s credit limit can lower your overall credit utilization, improving your credit score.
For these reasons, don’t close old credit card accounts while you’re pursuing credit score improvement unless they have expensive annual fees.
#8 Become an Authorized User
If you have a family member or close friend who has excellent credit, find out if they’d be willing to add you as an authorized user on their credit account. As an authorized user, you’ll receive a credit card with your name on it that’s tied to their account.
Being an authorized user can boost your credit score quickly, because this credit account’s activity will be reported under your name, too. For this reason, it is important to make sure the account holder has great credit management skills. Otherwise, being their authorized user could have the opposite effect.
#9 Apply For a Secured Credit Card
If you have poor credit or a slim credit file, a secured credit card can help you boost your credit score without meeting standard credit cards’ strict eligibility requirements. To obtain a secured credit card, you simply need to provide your lender with a cash deposit equal to the credit card’s credit limit, which is typically between $200 to $5,000. And don’t worry—when you close your secured credit card account, you’ll get your security deposit back.
Once you’ve opened your secured credit card account, it will function like a standard credit card. For instance, it will allow you to:
- Make purchases
- Make payments each month to display your creditworthiness
- Have these payments reported to the credit bureaus
Just keep in mind that you may incur interest if you don’t pay off your monthly balance in full. You should also verify that your chosen lender reports to all three credit bureaus.
#10 Take Out a Secured Loan
Another credit-builder product that can help you raise your credit score is a secured loan. Like secured credit cards, secured loans require you to provide your lender with a cash deposit for the loan amount. Your lender will store this deposit in a secured savings account until your loan is repaid in full.
After receiving your secured loan, you’ll be expected to make monthly payments on it, which will be reported to the credit bureaus. By making all of these payments on time, you can bolster your payment history and enhance your credit mix.
#11 Avoid Unnecessary New Credit Applications
With the exception of credit-building tools or credit limit increase requests, you should avoid new credit applications while you’re trying to boost your credit score. Not only do new credit accounts result in hard inquiries, but they also lower the average age of your credit accounts. Both events can reduce your credit score and set back your credit-improvement progress.
Additionally, waiting to apply for new credit after you’ve improved your credit score will help you qualify for more favorable terms.
#12 Report Your Alternative Credit Data
Alternative credit data is any financial information that showcases your creditworthiness that isn’t traditionally included in your credit reports. Some popular examples include:
- Rent payments
- Utility payments
- Telecom payments
- Bank account information
While some credit scoring models exclude alternative credit data, several newer versions are taking it into account. For instance, FICO 10T and VantageScore 4.0 (the two credit scoring models that will soon be used to calculate mortgage credit scores) factor it in.
Unfortunately, alternative credit data won’t reach your credit reports automatically—landlords and service providers rarely report payments to the credit bureaus on their own. To get this positive credit activity listed on your credit reports, you’ll need to leverage rent-reporting services, such as Self Rent Reporting or RentReporters, and similar products, like Experian Boost and UltraFICO.
Learn More: What is Alternative Credit Data?
#13 Take Advantage of Certified Credit’s CreditXpert Tools
Lastly, you can use our CreditXpert tools to determine what steps will make the greatest impact on your credit score. Here’s how these tools work:
- CreditXpert Wayfinder – Where there’s a will, there’s a way! This sentiment certainly applies to your credit score. With our helpful Wayfinder tool, you can gain insight into what actions you can take to improve your credit score. By taking the guesswork out of it, you can enjoy greater assurance that the changes you make will yield the credit score improvements you’re after.
- CreditXpert What-If Simulator – Our What-If Simulator enables you to test out an unlimited amount of scenarios involving your credit management. For example, you can see how much your credit score will increase if you make all of your current credit payments on time for the next year. By reviewing the potential outcomes of positive credit decisions, you can decide with confidence what the best path forward looks like for you and your credit score.
How Long Do Credit Score Improvements Take?
As you can see, there are many ways you can increase your credit score. The amount of time it will take for these strategies to yield results depends on your credit score’s starting point. For example, recovering from one missed payment will take a lot less time than rebuilding your credit score after bankruptcy.
No matter where you’re starting from, following these steps with dedication and consistency can earn you a high credit score in due time.
Explore Certified Credit’s Blog
For more credit-related tips and tricks, check out the Certified Credit blog. Our library of articles from industry experts dives into a variety of credit-related topics, from credit score improvement strategies for borrowers to tips for mortgage lenders.
