The 7 Best Ways to Increase Credit Score Quickly
To increase credit score quickly might seem like an impossible feat.
But people do it all the time.
In fact, those who know how to use credit to their advantage are the ones who tend to be much more successful.
That’s because they know that credit can either be their friend or their enemy, depending on how it’s used.
In this article, I’ll explain 7 of the best ways you can increase your credit score quickly.
These simple things can make a big difference in your finances and your future purchasing power.
1. Be Strategic about How You Pay Credit Card Balances
Many people choose to pay the minimum balance each month on their credit cards and use way more credit than would do their credit score good.
That’s actually what most people feel they’re able to pay.
But that’s a recipe for financial disaster.
The wealthy do things very differently…
They strategically pay off their credit cards so as not to pay any interest.
That doesn’t mean they don’t use them. They do…strategically.
They use the credit card and pay it off each month.
A good rule of thumb is to not use more than 30% of your available credit on any of your cards. However, using less is better, especially in the single digits.
The balance on a credit card is how a credit score is calculated. So having a low balance before the statement cycle ends each month is a good idea.
That’s one of the best ways to increase your credit score quickly, and it does work fast, as soon as a low balance is reported to the credit bureau.
Check out my article about 5 simple ways to become debt free and create abundance.
2. Ask for an Increase in Credit Limits
Asking for and getting a credit limit increase does a couple of things…
First, if you keep your balance the same but your credit limit goes up, you’re using less of your available credit, which is good. As stated above, you should keep your balance below 30% of your credit limit.
Also, if your income goes up or you’ve added time to the positive credit experience, it will give you a better shot at getting that credit limit increase.
What does positive credit experience mean?
It has to do with how you use your credit. If you don’t exceed 30% of your credit limit and pay off your credit card each month, it’s considered a positive credit experience.
And it makes a world of difference when wanting a credit increase or working on increasing your credit score.
Once you get that credit increase, just make sure you don’t use the extra credit on your card as the utilization is a major factor in determining your credit score.
3. Pay Bills on Time to Increase Credit Score Quickly
This might seem like a no-brainer, but it needs to be said.
Paying your bills late will hurt your credit score significantly. Late payments can stay on your credit score for 7½ years. Yikes!
Paying bills on time is the most important thing you can do to protect and increase your credit score. Both FICO and VantageScore consider it the largest scoring factor.
So pay on time and don’t miss payments. If you do, contact your financial institution to see if they will work with you to get you caught up, then work to get caught up asap.
This will make all the difference in the outcome of your credit score.
4. Dispute Errors on Your Credit Report
It’s recommended to check your credit report every once in a while. However, you can get a free weekly report from each of the three major credit bureaus.
Checking it weekly won’t affect your credit score. Hard inquiries in response to credit applications, on the other hand, impact your credit score.
You can request your credit reports through AnnualCreditReport.com, then check each of them for mistakes.
Some of the mistakes you might find are:
- Payments you paid on time but were marked late
- Another person’s credit activity mixed up with yours
- Old negative information that’s too old to be listed anymore
Ask your bank or credit union if they have the ability to run a credit report check. It can be a much simpler and less time-consuming process.
However you check it, you need to see what is being reported. And be sure to report any discrepancies you find as soon as possible.
5. Deal with Collections Accounts to Increase Credit Score Quickly
Having debts in collections can hurt your credit score bigtime. So either pay them off or settle them and pay a portion of the amount.
Contrary to common belief and what the movies tell us, collections agencies are actually very willing to work with you on getting your collections taken care of. It just requires communication.
Communication is key with regards to collections!
Paying off the debt will certainly increase your credit score, but once you pay it off, ask the collections agency if they will stop reporting your debt to the credit bureaus.
Also pay attention to your credit report to make sure they are reported accurately and are not left on too long.
This will help you increase your credit score.
6. Get Credit for Rent and Utility Payments
Through a rent-reporting service, you can have your rent payments put on your credit report. And your on-time rent payments will look good for anyone checking your report, as well as get reported by some (not all) scoring models.
You can also connect your bank accounts to something like Experian Boost to have certain bills show up on your report as well. You choose which bills you want, like streaming services, utilities, or phone, for example.
When you pay your bills on time, this is a helpful way to increase your credit score. Don’t do it though if you don’t regularly pay your bills on time.
7. Have a Good Credit Mix to Increase Credit Score Quickly
Having a variety of different types of credit is helpful to boost your score.
For example, you could have credit cards, a credit-builder loan, a business loan, or a car loan to have a good mix.
One of the reasons this helps increase credit score is it can reduce your overall credit usage by increasing your credit limit.
So mix things up.
In a Nutshell
That sums up 7 of the best ways you can increase your credit score quickly:
- Be Strategic about How You Pay Credit Card Balances
- Ask for an Increase in Credit Limits
- Pay Bills on Time to Increase Credit Score Quickly
- Dispute Errors on Your Credit Report
- Deal with Collections Accounts
- Get Credit for Rent and Utility Payments
- Have a Good Credit Mix to Increase Credit Score Quickly
You’ll be thanking yourself you did something about it. Your family will thank you when you buy that new home or comfortable vehicle.
Increasing your credit score quickly will teach your children to do the same and will be a gift with a ripple effect for generations.