Your credit score affects everything from the interest rate you’ll pay on an auto loan to whether you’ll be hired for certain jobs, so it’s understandable if you’re wondering how to raise your credit score quickly.
While there are no shortcuts for building up a solid credit history and score, there are some tactics that can provide you with a quick boost in a short amount of time. In fact, some consumers may even see their credit scores rise as much as 100 points in 30 days.
The fastest way to get a credit score boost is to lower the amount of revolving debt (which is generally credit cards) you’re carrying. The percentage of credit you use against the amount of credit you have available is called your credit utilization rate.
The typical guidance from personal finance experts is to use no more than 30% of your credit limit, which applies both to individual cards and across all cards. For example:
Still, if your utilization is currently over 30%, and simply paying the debt off immediately isn’t a viable option, there are a few other ways to lower your credit utilization rate.
Another way to reduce your credit utilization ratio if you’re carrying high balances is to bump up your credit limits.
For example, if you’re carrying $700 in debt on a card with a $1,000 credit limit, your credit utilization is 70%. If you’re successful in increasing your credit limit to $2,000, then your utilization rate drops to 35%.
Some issuers make it easy to request a credit limit increase via your online account. For example, Citi allows cardholders to make such a request on the “Credit Card Services” page.
You can also call the number on the back of your card to make the request. Know that some issuers may conduct a hard pull on your credit before granting you a higher credit line, which can ding your credit score a few points. Your score will recover, but inquire exactly how your request will be handled before you allow them to proceed so you know what to expect.
Note: If you’ve only had the card a few months, have a history of late payments or are carrying really high balances, your request may be denied until you’re seen as a less risky customer.
Read more about how a credit line increase impacts your credit score.
Applying for a new credit card is another way to reduce your credit utilization ratio. By adding a new line of credit, you’re essentially boosting your overall credit line, which can help if you’re unable to quickly pay down existing credit card debt.
Before you apply, determine the following:
Consider the following examples:
In the first example, opening a new credit card could improve your credit score substantially. However, in the second example, it’s likely you’ll see your score improve — just not by as much.
And again, applying for a new card will result in knocking your score down a few points when the issuer checks your credit, but the benefit you may see from lower utilization can quickly offset that temporary ding.
Learn more about our picks for the best credit cards.
A quick way to zero out your credit card debt and boost your credit utilization ratio could be achieved by paying it off with the proceeds from a debt consolidation or personal loan. Personal loans are issued by banks, credit unions and online lenders.
Using a personal loan to pay off high-interest credit card debt has the benefit of giving you a set monthly payment and a set repayment time period. It also reduces your credit utilization, because a personal loan is considered installment credit rather than revolving credit (like credit cards) and doesn’t count toward your utilization rate.
Plus, having a personal loan as well as a credit card can improve your credit mix, which accounts for 10% of your credit score.
The interest rate for a personal loan typically ranges from 5% to 36%. Note that some lenders may charge fees — for example, an origination fee when you take out the loan, or a prepayment fee if you pay the loan off early.
Paying on time constitutes 35% of your FICO Score, making it the most important action you can take to maintain a good credit score. But if you’ve been a good and steady customer who accidentally missed a payment one month, then pick up the phone and call your issuer immediately.
Be ready to pay up when you ask the customer rep to please forgive this mistake and not to report the late payment to the credit bureaus. Note that you won’t be able to do this repeatedly — requesting late payment forgiveness is likely to work just once or twice.
You have 30 days before you’re reported late to the credit bureaus, and some lenders even allow as long as 60 days. Once you have a late payment on your credit reports, it will stay there for seven years, so if this is a one-time thing, many issuers will give you a pass the first time you’re late.
Learn more about how a late payment affects your credit score.
Sometimes, your credit score might suffer because something wound up on your credit reports that shouldn’t have been there. Of course, you won’t know unless you check them.
Consumers can access their free credit report once a week from each of the credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion — accessible through annualcreditreport.com.
See more on how to get your free credit report.
You can file a dispute if you spot legitimate, incorrect information while reviewing your reports, such as accounts that aren’t yours, a name mix-up with another person or incorrectly reported payments. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a federal agency responsible for protecting consumers and offering financial education, provides dispute instructions for each bureau.
It’s worth taking a look at your reports, even if you have no reason to suspect there might be a problem. According to a report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 68% of credit or consumer reporting complaints received by the bureau in 2020 dealt with incorrect information on people’s credit reports.
Learn more about how to dispute credit report errors.
Typically, payments such as utility and cellphone bills won’t be reported to the credit bureaus, unless you default on them. However, Experian offers a free online tool called Experian Boost, aimed at helping those with low credit scores or thin credit files build credit history. With it, you may be able to get credit for paying your utilities and phone bill — even your Netflix subscription — on time.
Note that using Experian Boost will improve your credit score generated from Experian data. However, if a lender is looking at your score generated from Equifax or TransUnion data, the additional sources of payment history won’t be taken into account.
There are also services that allow rent payments to be reported to one or more of the credit bureaus, but they may charge a fee. For example, RentReporters feeds your rental history to TransUnion and Equifax; however, there’s a $94.95 setup fee and a $9.95 monthly fee.
Read more about how to check your credit report.
It’s important to know that not all credit scores are the same, and that they fluctuate from month to month, depending on which credit bureaus lenders use and how often lenders report account activity. So, while you shouldn’t worry if you see your scores rise or fall by a few points, you should take note when a big change occurs.
The two main consumer credit scoring models are the FICO Score and VantageScore. Here are the factors that comprise your FICO Score and how much each factor is weighed:
Here are the factors influencing your VantageScore:
There are a variety of options for checking your credit score for free.
For example, Discover cardholders can get a free FICO Score from the Discover Credit Scorecard. You can also check your credit score by creating a LendingTree Spring account. American Express and Capital One also offer free VantageScores to both card account holders and the general public, though many other card issuers offer free access only to their cardholders.
Here are the tiers that credit scores can fall into, according to FICO:
| FICO Score | FICO Score tiers |
|---|---|
| 800 or more | Exceptional credit |
| 740 to 799 | Very good credit |
| 670 to 739 | Good credit |
| 580 to 669 | Fair credit |
| 580 or less | Poor credit |
When you’re working to fix your credit, it takes good behavior over time. However, you’ll get the quickest credit score boost by lowering your utilization rate through paying down existing debt, getting a new credit card or requesting a credit line increase on an existing card.
Any late payments and debts sent to collection should be handled promptly — otherwise, they’ll just cause more pain once they hit your credit reports. It’s also wise to review your credit reports on a regular basis to spot errors that might be dragging down your credit score.
Knowing the actions to take in order to improve your credit score, along with being a responsible borrower can boost your chances of increasing your credit score by 100 points or even more.
The content above is not provided by any issuer. Any opinions expressed are those of LendingTree alone and have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any issuer. The offers and/or promotions mentioned above may have changed, expired, or are no longer available. Check the issuer's website for more details.
