How to Improve Your Credit Score Fast: 11 Ways to Build Credit
There are several proven ways to improve your credit score. Some can show results within a billing cycle; others take months. The right approach depends on what’s in your credit report, but the 11 strategies below cover the most effective moves you can make.
Steps to improve your credit score
1. Check your credit report for errors
Errors on your credit report can hurt your score through no fault of your own, and disputing them can have a quick impact.
Get free copies of your reports from the major credit bureaus, check for mistakes like payments marked late that you know you paid and dispute any errors directly with the bureaus. If your report has errors, you can dispute them yourself for free at AnnualCreditReport.com.
Credit bureaus have 30 to 45 days to investigate and resolve a dispute after receiving it.
Can a credit repair company do this for me?
Credit repair companies charge a fee to dispute errors on your behalf, but they follow the same process you would and cannot remove accurate information from your report. Save your money — disputing errors yourself is free and just as effective.
2. Make on-time payments
Payment history is the single biggest factor in your credit score. It accounts for 35% of your FICO Score and 40% of your VantageScore. Pay every bill on time, every month. Set up autopay or payment alerts, and ask your creditor about changing your due date to align with your pay schedule.
If you’re behind, make your accounts current as soon as possible. Each month past due damages your score further. It’s also worth calling your creditors to ask if they’ll stop reporting missed payments to the bureaus. They aren’t required to agree, but some will.
Results vary depending on how many missed payments you have and how far past due they are. Missed payments stay on your report for seven years, but their impact fades over time.
3. Lower your credit utilization
Your credit utilization ratio, the amount of credit you’re using versus what’s available, accounts for 30% of your FICO Score and 20% of your VantageScore. Lenders look for utilization ratios to be no higher than 30%, although lower is preferred. If yours is higher, paying down debt is one of the fastest ways to improve your score.
Consider using the debt snowball or debt avalanche method to pay it down without otherwise affecting your score.
Within a month of your new utilization ratio being reported to the credit bureaus.
4. Become an authorized user
If a close friend or family member has a strong credit profile, ask them to add you as an authorized user on one of their credit cards. In most cases, that card’s credit limit and history get factored into your own score. However, not every card issuer reports authorized user data to the credit bureaus, so confirm yours does before getting started.
Choose the primary cardholder carefully. As an authorized user, the primary cardholder’s behavior affects your credit too. If they miss payments or carry a high balance, it can hurt your score, not just theirs.
As soon as the card issuer reports the new account to the bureaus — sometimes within a billing cycle or two.
5. Request a credit line increase
Requesting a credit line increase is another way to lower your utilization ratio. Once it’s approved and reported, it can lower your credit utilization and boost your credit score. Your balances stay the same, but your available credit goes up. The key is to not add to those balances.
If your income has increased or you have a strong payment history, you’re a good candidate for an increase. Ask your issuer whether a hard inquiry is required first, as that can temporarily lower your score.
Fast — once the higher limit is reported to the bureaus, your utilization ratio drops and your score should follow.
6. Pay off and remove collections
Once you pay off debt in collections, you can ask the collections agency to stop reporting the information to the credit bureaus. Keep in mind that collection agencies aren’t required to stop reporting accurate information. However, you can also dispute the information if it’s incorrect or too old to be listed.
FICO 8, the most commonly used version, counts paid and unpaid collections on debts of $100 or more. Newer models, FICO 9 and 10, ignore paid collections entirely and treat unpaid medical collections less severely.
It can take one to two months after paying off a collection account for the change to appear on your credit report.
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7. Consider opening a secured card
A secured credit card is one of the best tools for building credit from scratch. These cards are backed by a cash deposit (typically paid upfront), which acts as your credit limit. They work like a regular credit card and report your payment history to the bureaus the same way, so consistent on-time payments build your score over time.
Gradually — results build over several months as you establish a record of on-time payments.
8. Get credit for rent and bill payments
If you have a thin credit profile, tools like Experian Boost can help you build it out by including payment information for expenses that usually aren’t included in a credit report, such as rent, utilities and streaming services.
Not all scoring models factor in this data, but where it’s considered, a consistent record of on-time payments can meaningfully improve your score.
As soon as the information is reported to the bureaus. Setup is minimal and results can be nearly immediate.
9. Limit how often you apply for new credit accounts
Each time you apply for new credit, a hard inquiry is generated on your credit report, which can temporarily lower your score. Too many in a short period compound the impact.
The exception is interest rate shopping. Inquiries for the same type of financing made within a 14- to 45-day window generally count as one inquiry, making it easier to compare offers without penalty.
Hard inquiries typically fall off your credit report within two years.
10. Keep old accounts open
The length of your credit history accounts for 15% of your FICO Score and 21% of your VantageScore. The older your accounts, the better. Don’t close old accounts, even ones you rarely use.
For example, keep your first credit card active by putting a small recurring charge on it, like a streaming subscription, and pay it off each month. Closing old accounts shortens your credit history and can increase your credit utilization. Combined, this could lower your credit score.
The impact can be immediate. Closing your oldest account reduces your average account age, increases credit utilization and can lower your score when reported to the credit bureaus.
11. Work on your credit mix
Credit mix refers to the variety of credit types you carry — credit cards, installment loans, mortgages, etc. It accounts for 10% of your FICO Score and is not factored into VantageScore at all.
If you only have credit cards, taking out a small personal loan could boost your score. If you only have installment loans, opening a credit card could help round out your mix.
Be wary of taking out new credit just for the sake of improving your credit, however. Focus on organically mixing up your credit over time.
Fast — once the new account is reported to the bureaus, you may see a change within a billing cycle.
See LendingTree’s full guide on how your credit score is calculated.
Which strategy is right for you?
| Situation | Best strategy |
|---|---|
| You have errors in your reports | Check your credit reports for errors (#1) |
| You're missing payments | Make on-time payments (#2) |
| You have high credit card balances | Lower your credit utilization (#3), request a credit line increase (#5) |
| You have either a thin or no credit history | Become an authorized user (#4), open a secured card (#7), get credit for other payments (#8) |
| You have unpaid debt in collections | Pay off and remove collections (#6) |
| You want to protect your existing score | Keep old accounts open (#10), limit new applications (#9), work on credit mix (#11) |
How long does it take to raise your credit score?
There’s no set timeline for how long it takes to raise your credit score. The time it takes will depend on the individual factors impacting it and the steps you take to change them.
A credit line increase or becoming an authorized user can show results within a billing cycle. Recovering from missed payments or collections can take months. The good news: negative items fade in impact over time and fall off your report entirely within seven to 10 years.
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Frequently asked questions
The fastest moves are requesting a credit line increase, becoming an authorized user on someone else’s card or paying down credit card balances. Any of these can show results within a billing cycle.
Lowering your credit utilization ratio, either by paying down balances or requesting a credit line increase, typically produces the fastest results. Becoming an authorized user on a card with a strong payment history can also move your score quickly.
A credit line increase or becoming an authorized user is your best bet. Both can reflect on your report within days once reported to the bureaus. Disputing and resolving a credit report error can also have an immediate impact.
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