Sunday, January 3, 2010

What Is the Quickest Way to Improve My Credit Score?

Improving your credit habits can improve your personal credit score. Good credit includes a Fair Isaac Corporation score 700 and higher. It can take weeks or months for credit scores to reflect changes, however. If looking for a fast way to improve your credit score in order to qualify for a credit card or loan, consider rapid re-scoring and improve your score in about 72 hours, says Bankrate's Pat Curry.

Get Your Credit Report

    Order your personal credit report from Annual Credit Report. Improving your credit score fast entails knowing the contents of your credit report, and making necessary changes to the file to fix a low score. Factors that influence credit scoring include payment history, high debts and derogatory remarks such as bankruptcy, liens and collection accounts. Having this information on your report will reduce your score and make it harder to qualify for financing. Review your report carefully and look for errors or items that you can quickly improve.

Disputing Mistakes

    Mistakes on your credit report can lower your personal credit score. Creditors may report erroneous information such as high account balances and late payments. Circle any discrepancies or errors on your credit report, and bring these to the attention of your creditors. Creditors have to look into any complaint, and update reports with accurate information.

Pay Down Debt

    Look at your account balances on your credit report, and if you have the available funds, make a lump sum payment to pay off your credit cards or at least pay down the balance to below 30 percent of the credit limit. Paying down account balances is a fast way to add points to your credit score.

Contact Creditors

    Once you've identified mistakes on your credit file or paid down your debt, contact prospective lenders to discuss rapid re-scoring. Lenders, in turn, contact a rapid re-scoring company, and this company works with your creditors to get your report quickly updated. Curry advises that the fee for immediate credit report updates is about $25 to $50. Updates generally occur within 72 hours or three days of a request. Removing serious errors or having your credit report reflect a much lower debt balance can quickly improve your credit score.

Other Methods to Improve Credit

    Numerous other factors can play a role in improving credit score. For example, timely payments account for 35 percent of scoring, and paying bills on time every month can help you achieve a higher rating, says Myfico.com. What's more, diversifying credit and including various types of credit accounts help improve your score, as does limiting credit inquiries and only applying for credit when needed. MSN Money's Liz Weston recommends using credit cards regularly to keep accounts active. Creditors are more apt to update credit reports with positive information on active accounts.

Benefits of Rapid Re-Scoring

    Rapid re-scoring is necessary when you need a quick credit score increase to qualify for some type of financing. For example, some mortgage lenders require a minimum credit score of 680 for a home loan approval, says BCS Alliance; and they may not approve your application until you've achieved this minimum requirement. Rapid re-scoring can give you the points you need within a few days.

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