5 Ways To Quickly Improve Your Credit Score

Forbes

10 hours ago

Your credit score is used in a myriad of ways in your daily life. There are the obvious ones, like when you need a loan to buy a car or a mortgage to buy a home, but did you know you need a decent score to get a cell phone?
Or that a potential employer may run a credit check? They do that to verify your identity but also to see if you have a lot of debt or previously mismanaged your finances.
If you're in need of a quick boost to your score, unfortunately there aren't many levers to pull. It won't increase overnight, but doing some of these could improve your score in the next 60 to 90 days.
Dispute Errors on Your Credit Report
Check your credit reports and double check there aren't any erroneous negative items listed. If there are, disputing them is the fastest way to improve your score.
While you should do this anyway because you want an accurate credit report, the dispute process is not fast. Once you file a dispute, it can take 30-45 days to get a response from the bureaus since they give the reporting party a chance to explain.
Eventually, however, your score may improve once the negative items are removed.
Become an Authorized User
If you know someone with a credit card that has a long history of good behavior, ask to be added as an Authorized User. This will include that card's entire history on your credit report, which will impact your score.
If you are a parent, adding your child as an authorized user is a great way to jump start their credit history. If you're the child, ask your parents to add you. You don't even need the card itself, just being added is enough.
Pay Down Your Debts
Credit utilization, or the amount of your total credit that you're using, is a big factor in your score. You want to keep this number as low as possible because a high percentage means you're starting to get stretched thin.
The amount of credit used is based on what your credit cards report as your statement balance. If you pay it off in full each month, the percentage is still calculated using the amount at statement close. It doesn't consider whether you are carrying a balance or not. If you wish to keep the percentage low, you'll have to pay off the card before the statement closes.
Request a Credit Limit Increase
Another way to lower your credit utilization is to increase your total credit. You can go to each of your credit cards and request a credit limit increase. Some cards will let you request one every six to twelve months.
Increasing your credit limit is easy and can be done online - here are instructions on how to request a credit limit increase from Chase, Citi, Capital One, and American Express.
Add Rent & Utilities to Your Report
This last method only works on your score if calculated using an Experian credit report but you can use a paid service like Experian Boost to report rent and utility bills on your credit report.
The service scans your credit card statements and include recurring bills like cell phone, utilities, insurance, and rent on your Experian credit report. It can improve your score because it's additional evidence you are able to meet your financial obligations.
Summary
There are a few ways you can improve your credit score in the short term but those still often take several months to take effect. If you need to improve your score, your best option is to take action as quickly as possible.