How to Increase Your Credit Score Quickly
Having a healthy credit score is always important, especially if you are about to refinance your mortgage or want to get approved for loans or credit cards. Improving credit scores takes time. However, if you are finding ways to up your score quickly, there are a few tips that you can apply.
It should be noted, however, a true credit building is a multi-year process. To get personalized advice on how to manage your money more responsibly and to build great credit, schedule a consultation with one of our financial services specialists.
Dispute Credit-Report Mistakes:
Removing negative information from your credit report could trigger an increase of 100+ points. If you can prove the information is inaccurate, the credit bureaus will remove the disputed information. So go through your report and cross-reference each item with your own financial records to check if something seems fishy.
Reduce Your Credit Card Statement Balance:
Reducing your credit utilization can increase your credit scores. The credit utilization ratio is the amount of credit you’ve used compared to your spending limits. You should have a ratio of less than 30%. If you reduce the monthly balance in your statement, you also reduce your utilization. To reduce the statement balance, you can spend less, make larger payments or pay bills more often. For example, you can pay off your credit card twice a month: once before your statement is generated and once before the due date to lower your credit utilization.
Dispute Negative Authorized-User Records:
If you are or were an authorized user of a bad account, you can ask the credit bureau to remove it from your credit report. All you need to do is file a dispute.
Ask for a Higher Credit Limit:
Raising your credit limit on one or more cards can lower your overall credit utilization ratio, a key impact on your credit score. Make sure to ask your creditor’s policy first if you can raise your limit without a hard inquiry. Many credit-card issuers re-check your credit history which can temporarily drop your scores. If you have earned a higher income or have built a positive credit reputation over years, your chances of getting the limit raised are higher.
If you have problems with overspending or have missed payments, we wouldn’t recommend this tip. The issuer might see your request for a credit limit as a signal that you are having some financial problems and need the extra credit. This might end up causing a decrease in credit limits.
Avoid Late Payments:
Always remember to pay your bill before the closing date to ensure your reported balance is low or even zero. If you pay after the reporting date, your reported balance could negatively impact your score. Late payments can stay on your credit reports for seven years.
Summary:
Paying your bills on time, spending less, disputing negative information, and keeping your credit utilization low can help you raise the scores quickly. Improving credit scores takes time. The sooner you address the issues, the faster your credit score will go up
