How to Improve an Excellent Credit Score

For most Americans, the fate of their financial future is determined by three numbers: their credit score. The range of credit scores in the United States is from 300 to 850. A person with excellent credit will have a credit score of approximately 720 to 799. These people can secure low interest rates on things like home loans, credit cards and car loans. There are perks that people with an exceptional or perfect credit score have access to that even people with excellent scores cannot.

Instructions

1

Keep the balances on your existing credit cards low. A maxed out or nearly maxed out credit card can have a negative affect on your credit score. Keeping your balances low and paying the bill on time can raise the score.

2

Avoid opening new credit accounts or signing up for new credit cards as a way to raise a score. These can both lead to trouble in the future if the payments on several new accounts cannot be paid on time.

3

Check your credit score. You may have inaccurate collection attempts or misleading figures on the report that are keeping your credit score from improving. Contact the creditor that is responsible for the inaccuracies. Getting the inaccurate information taken off your report will help raise your score.

4

Avoid placing all of your credit card debt onto one or two cards. This strategy is known as debt consolidation and can actually lower your score. Many people choose to place the balances of several credit cards with higher interest rates onto one or two cards with lower interest rates. This can cause consolidated cards to become maxed out, which can lower your credit score. Instead, spread the debt out over several lower interest cards and pay these on time.

5

Continue to pay all of your bills on time. This will slowly but surely raise your score until you reach the top number.

6

Avoid closing accounts or credit cards that are completely or nearly paid off. This will have a negative impact on your credit score by reducing the amount of credit available to you.