5 Ways to Increase Your Credit Score Fast

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3. Have Your Credit Limits Increased

After you’ve paid off as much of your credit card debt as you can, contact your credit card company to have your credit limit raised. This is a good idea, as it increases your total available credit, and reduces your percentage of debt. This move looks much better on your credit report and you’ll seem like less of a risk to potential lenders. However, just because your limit has been raised, don’t raise your spending to match it.

Lots of credit card companies will allow you to raise your credit card limit now that you’ve paid off a portion of the debt. You can even apply online. The easiest way to do this is to log-in to your credit card account online portal. You’ll find options to expand your credit. If you get denied, just call your credit card company instead.

4. Use Your Credit Cards Responsibly

To have good credit, you need to still use your credit card. But it’s all about having discipline. Don’t buy what you can’t afford, and pay off your credit card balance in full, every single month. This is one of the best ways to boost your credit score. To stay on top of your repayments make a spreadsheet, or simply note how much you need to pay and when into a notebook.

If you don’t trust yourself to put all of your expenses on your credit card, then use it for a smaller portion of your expenses. For example, just use your credit card every time you get gas. Then, pay off the balance in full every month. You can make use of credit card rewards like cash back and frequent flyer miles – so it’s not all bad.

5. Ask to Have Items Removed

It’s likely that you might have some little blips on your credit report – life happens. Maybe you made a late mortgage payment or missed a few credit card payments. Everyone has had money struggles at one time or another in their lives, and the credit agencies will understand this to a certain extent. To remedy this, you can call the creditor and see if there is anything that can be done to remove the bad marks from your report. Sometimes, you might need to pay a balance off in full or write a letter explaining what happened.

Once these things disappear, then your credit score is sure to rise. So, it’s definitely worth a try. After you’ve completed these steps and remedied your credit score, you still need to work to maintain a high credit score. Try to keep your debts low, don’t miss any payments and pay off your credit cards in full every month. To keep on top of your score and you can check it at AnnualCreditReport.com. It’s a government service, which is completely free to access once per year and safe to view online.