Some things that can help you improve your credit score are paying your bills on time, using authorized users, fixing mistakes on your credit report, and paying your credit card bills more than once a month.
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Want to raise your credit fast and build a good score? Look for things such as a missed payment, a high credit card balance or a mistake on your credit report for a quick boost. Some people have trouble with having enough credit, but there are ways to build credit at your own pace.
Get free copies of your credit reports to diagnose what might be dragging your credit down. It is important to know what is lowering your score so that you can choose the best strategies for you. Weve listed nine options below.
Many people want to quickly build a strong credit history and raise their credit score. This is especially true for people who haven’t had much credit history. A common question is whether your credit score will rise faster if you just use your cards more.
The short answer is no – spending more does not directly lead to fast credit score growth. In fact, it can actually hurt if you’re not careful. Let’s take a detailed look at how your spending impacts your credit score and techniques to build it quickly and responsibly.
How Credit Card Spending Impacts Your Score
Your FICO or VantageScore credit score is made up of a few important things. The five main components are:
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Payment history – Whether you pay your bills on time This is the biggest factor, making up 35% of your score
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Credit utilization refers to how much of your available credit you are actually using. This statistic accounts for 30% of your score.
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Credit history length – How long you’ve had credit accounts open, 15% of your score
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New credit – Number of new accounts and inquiries. 10% of your score.
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Credit mix – Types of credit you have (credit cards, loans, etc). 10% of your score.
You can see that how you use your credit is a big deal—10% of your total score depends on it. This is where spending comes into play.
Utilization is expressed as a percentage – your total balances divided by your total credit limits on all cards. If you have a $10,000 limit across all cards and a $3,000 total balance, your utilization is 30%.
The lower this percentage, the better. Experts often recommend keeping utilization below 30%. High utilization gives the impression you are over-reliant on credit.
Spending more without paying balances off can increase your utilization percentage and actually bring your score down.
Why High Spending Can Hurt Your Score
Here are specific ways spending too much can damage your credit utilization and score:
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Maxing out cards – Maxing out even one card to its limit can severely reduce your score, even if overall utilization is low.
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Using too much of limits – Consistently using more than 30% of your total limits will reduce your score over time.
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Not paying balances – Carrying high balances month-to-month leads to high utilization.
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Opening many new cards – Each card lowers your average account age, reducing this factor.
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Making many inquiries – Applying for a lot of credit at once causes many hard inquiries, lowering your score.
As you can see, restraint is needed when using credit if you want to maintain or improve your score. Too much spending actually works against building your score quickly.
Tips to Build Credit Fast the Right Way
If spending alone doesn’t directly help your credit, what does? Here are powerful techniques to build your score quickly and responsibly:
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Pay all bills on time – This includes credit cards, utilities, rent – everything. Set up autopay if needed.
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Keep utilization low – Ideally below 30%, but even lower is better. Pay off charges promptly.
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Limit new accounts – Open new credit only as needed, not just for perks. Too many dings your score.
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Don’t close old cards – Keep your longest accounts open to help your credit history length.
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Mix in installment loans – An auto, student, or personal loan adds variety to your credit mix.
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Become an authorized user – Get added to a parent’s or spouse’s old credit card to benefit from their history.
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Dispute errors – Correct any mistakes on your credit reports to maximize your score.
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Monitor constantly – Use a site like Credit Karma to monitor your reports and score.
The key themes are letting good habits build over time, not overextending yourself, and leveraging existing accounts. Healthy, moderate spending supplemented with the right techniques will maximize fast credit score growth.
Turning Your Credit Around Quickly
For those with limited credit or a low score, the above tips are especially important to raise your score quickly. Here is how to turn your credit situation around fast if you have a thin file or poor score:
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Get a secured card – This lets you rebuild credit without the high interest rates of bad credit cards. Make small purchases and pay them off completely each month.
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Become an authorized user on a spouse or parent’s old card to benefit from their good history.
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Dispute any errors on your credit reports and get negative items removed if possible to quickly boost your score.
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Limit new applications – Each hard inquiry can knock your score down further when it’s already low. Only apply for secured cards and loans you need.
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Pay down balances – If you have debt, focus on paying it down aggressively. The lower the balances, the lower your utilization.
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Monitor constantly – Keep track of your reports and score monthly. This helps you pinpoint exactly what to tackle to maximize fast results.
With some focus and perseverance, you can add 50 to 100 points or more within a few months to a year. The key is not obsessing over your score but letting your good habits compound over time.
The Bottom Line
While it may be tempting to try to spend your way to a perfect credit score, that approach often backfires. Too much spending or taking on debt can actually lower your score rather than helping build it.
The best ways to improve your credit score quickly are to practice good habits like paying bills on time, keeping credit utilization low, limiting inquiries, and letting your score strengthen over time. Healthy spending supplemented by key techniques will put you firmly on the road to credit success.
Dispute credit report errors
A mistake on one of your credit reports could be pulling down your score. Disputing errors on your credit report can help you quickly improve your credit.
Youre entitled to free weekly reports from each of the three major credit bureaus. Use AnnualCreditReport. com to get them and then look for mistakes, like payments being marked as late when you made them on time or your credit activity being mixed up with someone else’s. Additionally, look for bad marks like a bankruptcy, an account in collections, a foreclosure, or other marks that are too old to be listed anymore, usually seven years.
Impact on credit score varies, but it could be high if a lender says you missed a payment when you didn’t.
TIME COMMITMENT: Medium to high. It takes some time to request and read your free credit reports, dispute errors and track the follow-up. But the process is worthwhile, especially if youre trying to build your credit ahead of a milestone such as applying for a large loan. If youre planning to apply for a mortgage, get disputes done with plenty of time to spare.
HOW FAST IT COULD WORK: Varies. The credit bureaus have 30 to 45 days to investigate and respond. Some companies offer to dispute errors and quickly improve your credit, but proceed with caution.
You can request your credit report in Spanish directly from each of the three major credit bureaus:
- TransUnion: Call 800-916-8800.
- Equifax: Visit the link or call 888-378-4329.
- Experian: Click on the link or call 888-397-3742.
Usted puede solicitar una copia de su informe crediticio (gratis y en español) de cada una de las tres principales agencias de crédito:
- TransUnion: Llame al 800-916-8800.
- Equifax: Visite el enlace o llame al 888-378-4329.
- Experian: Haga clic en el enlace o llame al 888-397-3742.
Become an authorized user
If someone you trust, such as a relative or mentor, has a credit card account with a high credit limit and a good history of on-time payments, you might consider asking to be added as an authorized user. The account holder doesn’t have to let you use the card — or even give you the account number — for your credit to improve.
Make sure the account reports to all three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) to get the best effect — most credit cards do.
SCORE IMPACT: Potentially high, especially if you are new to credit and have a thin credit file. The effect will be smaller for those with established credit who are trying to offset missteps or lower credit utilization.
TIME COMMITMENT: Low to medium. Youll need discuss with the account holder whether youll have access to the card and account or if youll just be listed as an authorized user.
HOW FAST IT COULD WORK: Fast. As soon as youre added and the lender reports the updated information to the bureaus, the account can benefit your profile.
How to RAISE Your Credit Score Quickly (Guaranteed!)
FAQ
How can I improve my credit fast?
Here are ways to improve credit fast: Use strategies like paying bills on time, paying off high credit card balances, disputing credit report errors or asking for a credit limit increase.
How to build credit fast?
Some quick ways to build credit are to become an authorized user, pay off credit card debt, get a higher credit limit, and more.
Are credit cards a good way to build credit?
Credit cards provide one of the simplest ways to build credit. There are two main types of credit cards: secured and unsecured. Secured cards require you to make a deposit when you sign up, which typically becomes your credit limit. This deposit is used as collateral, and the issuer will keep it if you can’t repay your balance.
Can a good payment history build your credit fast?
When you first start out, though, a few months of on-time payments can really help you build your credit quickly. If you’re a new borrower, building credit is a faster process than if you were starting out with a less-than-perfect history.
Can a credit card improve your credit?
The account holder doesn’t have to let you use the card — or even give you the account number — for your credit to improve. Make sure the account reports to all three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) to get the best effect — most credit cards do.
How much money do I need to increase my credit score?
To improve your credit score, you should spend less than 30% of your available credit. Only use $20 of your credit card limit. Or $15 (if your limit is $100). That shows the credit bureau that you don’t need all of their credit. And for some reason, that makes your credit score go up.
Do you build credit faster if you spend more money?
Spending more or less will not impact how quickly your credit score grows. It takes time to build a solid credit profile, and there’s no substitute for that time.
What brings your credit score up the fastest?
Keep paying your bills on time.
In many credit scoring formulas, your payment history has the greatest effect on your overall credit scores. So, it’s critical to make payments on time.
What is the 2/3/4 rule for credit cards?
Does spending a lot increase credit score?
Your credit score won’t be impacted by the way you choose to spend money, but if you experience financial difficulties, e.g. because gambling has become a problem, you have missed payments and carry a high level of debt, this may severely affect your credit score and future credit eligibility.