How Can I Raise My FICO Score As Quickly As Possible?

The FICO credit score is a number in the range from 300 to 850. The three national credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, prepare credit reports and calculate the FICO that quantitatively evaluates an individual's creditworthiness. Generally, a higher credit score allows you to obtain loans, mortgages or a line of credit more easily and with lower interest rates. To increase your FICO score quickly you need to improve your payment history and reduce your credit card debt since these two components have the largest influence on the credit score.

Instructions

1

Get your credit reports from each of three credit bureaus using the link in Resources.

2

Examine carefully each credit report. If there are errors or discrepancies in your credit reports contact the respective reporting agency to correct them; this allows you to instantly boost your FICO score.

3

Review carefully all your credit card statements each month, noting the amount due and the due date.

4

Pay your credit card bills (at least the minimum amount due) and monthly loan installments on time. Keeping an excellent payment history is the fastest way to increase your FICO score.

5

Pay your credit card debt as fast as possible to raise your FICO score quickly; your goal is to bring credit utilization below 30 percent for each credit card. For instance, if a credit line is $5,000 your goal is to bring the balance below $1,500 ($5000 x 30 /100).

6

Keep credit card accounts with a zero balance open. Such accounts decrease your total credit utilization and hence improve your FICO score.

7

Use each of your credit cards at least once a month. This builds up and improves your payment history, and also prevents credit card issuers from closing your accounts due to inactivity.