The Quickest Way to Get Your Credit Score Up

Having a low credit score will affect your ability to obtain credit cards, car loans and home mortgages. Employers and landlords check credit scores to find out if you are financially responsible. Low credit scores are a result of paying bills late, home foreclosure, bankruptcy, overextended credit cards or other financial problems that have occurred. Credit scores range from 300 to 850. A good score is 740 or above. You can get your credit score up relatively quickly.

Instructions

1

Check your credit card report for free once a year from each of the major credit bureaus; Equifax, TransUnion and Experian. Get a free credit report online from these companies at www.AnnualCreditReport.com or call 877-322-8228. These companies will supply a free credit history, but they may charge a small fee for you to obtain your credit score. Check your score and credit history. Read carefully all of the information on the report. Dispute any errors that you find and fix them by sending a letter to the credit reporting bureau.

2

Pay all of your bills on time. Set up automatic payment plans so you do not miss a payment. Utility companies and phone companies report late payments to the credit card bureaus.

3

Pay down any revolving credit card balances that you have. Start with the cards that are close to their credit limit.

4

Avoid having large balances on your cards, even if you pay them off each month. Keep the amount of purchases made to a credit card to 25 percent to 30 percent of the cards available limit. Ask to have the credit limit raised if you are always near the limit. That will make it look like you are not maxing out your card each month.

5

Create a longer credit history by using your oldest cards every month. Place small amounts of credit purchases on your cards each month.

6

Reduce the amount of your balance that is seen by the credit bureaus. Pay your balance or monthly payment before it is due so that your statement looks smaller when it is reported.

7

Limit the amount of new credit cards you open. Do not apply for credit cards that you do not need. Avoid opening new credit cards at department stores. Do not close out old credit card accounts. This makes your credit history look shorter and the credit limit smaller.