{"id":552,"date":"2008-07-16T09:32:10","date_gmt":"2008-07-16T13:32:10","guid":{"rendered":"\/\/www.askmrcreditcard.com\/news\/?p=552"},"modified":"2008-07-16T09:32:10","modified_gmt":"2008-07-16T13:32:10","slug":"how-to-raise-your-credit-score-in-7-easy-steps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.askmrcreditcard.com\/news\/how-to-raise-your-credit-score-in-7-easy-steps\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Raise Your Credit Score In 7 Easy Steps"},"content":{"rendered":"

7 Tips for Raising Your Credit Score:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Pay your bills on time \u2013 every time.<\/strong>
    \nThis is the all-important key to a good credit score. It matters more than just about everything else combined. Make sure that you pay not only your credit cards on time, but your mortgage, car payments and even utility bills. Otherwise you can run into what is called Universal Default. That basically means that because you were late paying your electric bill, your credit card company can raise your interest rate. Shady, I know. Not all credit card companies practice Universal Default, but enough do that you will want to be careful of it.<\/li>\n
  2. Dispute inaccurate information on your credit report.<\/strong>
    \nThis one is probably a no-brainer, but you would be surprised how many people do not do it. It has been estimated that up to 40 percent of people have bad information on their credit reports. That bad info could cost you a loan, or raise your interest rates \u2013 and you don\u2019t even know it\u2019s there! <\/li>\n
  3. Monitor your credit report regularly \u2013 at least once a year. <\/strong>
    \nThis goes along with step number two. If you are checking your credit reports from all three bureaus regularly, then you will be able to spot mistakes when they happen. It will also help protect you from identity theft because you will notice any suspicious accounts on your reports. You can get a free copy of all three credit reports here<\/a>.<\/li>\n
  4. Don\u2019t close old accounts, even if you no longer use them. <\/strong>
    \nThere are some exceptions to this. As long as you are not paying outrageous yearly fees on a credit card, then it\u2019s probably best to leave the account open, even if you no longer use the card.<\/li>\n
  5. Don\u2019t try to open too many new accounts at once.<\/strong>
    \nEach inquiry on your credit report can lower your score as much as twelve points. There are two exceptions to this: Pulling your own report does not count against you, and shopping for a home or car loan with different companies will not lower it much either \u2013 as long as all the inquiries are within the same 30 day period.<\/li>\n
  6. Never charge more than 30% of your available credit on any of your cards. <\/strong>
    \nThis is a big one. Charging up all your cards looks very bad to prospective lenders. Your average balance, and the maximum you have ever charged on the card get reported to the three credit bureaus. So, to really protect your credit, keep those balances low \u2013 Under 30 percent. Under 10% is even better! It is best to never carry a revolving balance.<\/li>\n
  7. If your credit score is low, consider getting a secured credit card.<\/strong>
    \nSecured cards are not just for people with judgments or bankruptcies. If your credit score is on the low side because of late payments, secured cards could probably benefit you. For one thing, they typically have     low interest rates<\/a>, and many have low yearly fees. They are the only cards where you are in control of your credit limit because you can send a deposit in any time you need to raise it. You can raise your credit score pretty quickly if you use them correctly.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    No matter where your credit score is right now, if you apply these seven steps regularly, then you will see it go up, sometimes in a matter of months!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    7 Tips for Raising Your Credit Score: Pay your bills on time \u2013 every time. This is the all-important key to a good credit score. It matters more than just about everything else combined. Make sure that you pay not only your credit cards on time, but your mortgage, car payments and even utility bills. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[14],"tags":[35,64,204],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Raise Your Credit Score In 7 Easy Steps<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.askmrcreditcard.com\/news\/how-to-raise-your-credit-score-in-7-easy-steps\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Raise Your Credit Score In 7 Easy Steps\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"7 Tips for Raising Your Credit Score: Pay your bills on time \u2013 every time. This is the all-important key to a good credit score. It matters more than just about everything else combined. 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