1. Pay Down Credit Card Balances (Biggest Impact)
Credit utilization — how much of your available credit you're using — accounts for 30% of your FICO score. Getting utilization below 10% on every card is the single fastest way to raise your score. Even getting from 45% to 28% can add 25–35 points in 30 days.
2. Dispute Errors on Your Credit Report
1 in 5 credit reports contain errors significant enough to affect lending decisions. Get your free reports at annualcreditreport.com. Common errors: accounts that aren't yours, incorrect late payments, wrong balances, accounts that should have 'aged off' (7 years).
3. Become an Authorized User
Ask a family member with an excellent-credit card (low utilization, on-time history) to add you as an authorized user. Their entire account history appears on your report — potentially adding years of positive history overnight.
4. Don't Close Old Accounts
Closing old accounts reduces your available credit (raising utilization) and shortens your average account age. Even a rarely-used card from 10 years ago helps your score. Keep it open, use it occasionally for a small purchase.
5. Set Up Autopay for Everything
Payment history is 35% of your score. One 30-day late payment can drop your score by 60–110 points. Set autopay for at least the minimum payment on every account.
6. Limit New Credit Applications
Each hard inquiry drops your score by 5–10 points for up to 12 months. Space out credit applications. When rate shopping for a loan, do it within a 14-day window — bureaus treat multiple inquiries in that window as a single inquiry.
7. Use a Credit-Builder Loan
Rise Up Lending reports to all three bureaus monthly. Borrowers who take our loans and make on-time payments see an average 47-point increase in 6 months. The payment history builds a positive track record fast.
