Fast ways to improve Credit Score?

[The WDW 3]

Besides paying down debt?

 

[ford91exploder]

The only FAST way to improve score is paying off debt and making 100% sure all payments on time

 

[Marionnette]

Besides paying down debt?

Paying on time...always.

 

[The WDW 3]

The only FAST way to improve score is paying off debt and making 100% sure all payments on time

Ok, I am already doing that and have very little debt remaining outside of a car payment which is always on time.

What if I increase my credit card limit?

 

[ford91exploder]

maybe get a new card, Pay car off but nothing but paying down debt aggressively raises scores quickly, The system is designed to punish quickly and reward slowly

 

[HappyDznyCamper]

What brought your score down? If you have any collections pay them off, and try to pay in full. "Settled less than full" on a credit report is still a negative because the lender didn't get paid back everything owed. Late payments are a killer to a score. As ford91explorer said scores go down fast and up slow. If you are a member of a credit union check and see if they partner with a credit counseling service(the small credit union I work for offers one for our members). DO NOT pay anyone to "fix" your credit, time and good habits are the only way to do it.

 

[DLgal]

Raising your credit limit might help if your utilization is above like 5%.

Also, pay your balances in full the day before the statement closes so it reflects a zero or very low balance.

 

[cjlong88]

The factors that have the highest impact to credit score are payment history, credit utilization, and derogatory marks. Be sure to be using less than 10% of your total credit limit. Best practice is to pay it down every month on time and be at 0% usage. No late payments, no money left on the card.

The next factor to consider is credit age. The older your average credit history is the better. When you open a new card, it lowers your age of credit history. BUT, having more credit lines is better. It isn't, however, as important as your overall average credit age.

The lowest factor is any hard pulls made on your credit.

 

[The WDW 3]

What brought your score down? If you have any collections pay them off, and try to pay in full. "Settled less than full" on a credit report is still a negative because the lender didn't get paid back everything owed. Late payments are a killer to a score. As ford91explorer said scores go down fast and up slow. If you are a member of a credit union check and see if they partner with a credit counseling service(the small credit union I work for offers one for our members). DO NOT pay anyone to "fix" your credit, time and good habits are the only way to do it.

It’s actually pretty good. I I don’t really have a low score. But, it could be higher, and I’m about to buy a house, so I’d like to just maximize it as best I can.

 

[RamblingMad]

Pull your credit reports and see if anything is wrong. Get it fixed.

Reduce your utilization rate. Two ways to do this. You either get more credit cards to increase your available credit or you pay down your existing debt.

Minimize the number of hard inquiries you do each year.

Don't move. Time at residence matters.

Don't change jobs. Time at employer matters.

Don't pay late.

Understand that your credit score is seasonal. Most people buy a lot of stuff over the holidays, so their utilization goes up in November and December. Their score also goes down. Folks tend to pay down or off this debt in February and March with tax refunds, so their score tends to rebound back.

 

[DLgal]

Pull your credit reports and see if anything is wrong. Get it fixed.

Reduce your utilization rate. Two ways to do this. You either get more credit cards to increase your available credit or you pay down your existing debt.

Minimize the number of hard inquiries you do each year.

Don't move. Time at residence matters.

Don't change jobs. Time at employer matters.

Don't pay late.

Understand that your credit score is seasonal. Most people buy a lot of stuff over the holidays, so their utilization goes up in November and December. Their score also goes down. Folks tend to pay down or off this debt in February and March with tax refunds, so their score tends to rebound back.

Time at residence does not matter nor does anything having to do with employment. I haven't worked in 17 years and have an 835 credit score. I have also moved several times in the last 20 years.

 

[RamblingMad]

Time at residence does not matter nor does anything having to do with employment. I haven't worked in 17 years and have an 835 credit score. I have also moved several times in the last 20 years.

I’ve built models for a living. They do matter. Financial companies use in house custom models. No one relies on off the shelf FICO models anymore to make decisions.

Here’s an extreme example. SoFi uses your social media profile to come up with part of your score. One piece of data they use is where your friends live. How many live in the same state as you? They can use this to figure out your propensity to move. It’s more difficult to skip trace someone that moves a lot. If you have more out of state than in state friends it also speaks to how stable you are. Another piece of data they use is how many laundromats are close to where you live. This has gotten them into trouble recently.

 

[The WDW 3]

I’ve built models for a living. They do matter. Financial companies use in house custom models. No one relies on off the shelf FICO models anymore to make decisions.

Here’s an extreme example. SoFi uses your social media profile to come up with part of your score. One piece of data they use is where your friends live. How many live in the same state as you? They can use this to figure out your propensity to move. It’s more difficult to skip trace someone that moves a lot. If you have more out of state than in state friends it also speaks to how stable you are. Another piece of data they use is how many laundromats are close to where you live. This has gotten them into trouble recently.

That’s crazy. I believe it, but crazy.

 

[Traveling on cc points]

It’s actually pretty good. I I don’t really have a low score. But, it could be higher, and I’m about to buy a house, so I’d like to just maximize it as best I can.

If you are going to be purchasing a house soon, do not apply for any new cards or credit of any kind.

You can ask your currant credit card issuers to increase your limit but make sure that they only do a soft pull and NOT a hard pull.

what percentage of your car loan has been paid? If it’s a low percentage and you have the cash for a few extra payments this could boost your score a bit.

As others have said, check your reports to make sure everything on there is accurate.

 

[The WDW 3]

If you are going to be purchasing a house soon, do not apply for any new cards or credit of any kind.

You can ask your currant credit card issuers to increase your limit but make sure that they only do a soft pull and NOT a hard pull.

what percentage of your car loan has been paid? If it’s a low percentage and you have the cash for a few extra payments this could boost your score a bit.

As others have said, check your reports to make sure everything on there is accurate.

Everything is accurate. I just bought the car 9 months ago so I am 9 months in and always on time. How much of a difference would it make if I put an extra few payments down? I understand the hard pull and I will be talking to the bank this week.

 

[afan]

Everything is accurate. I just bought the car 9 months ago so I am 9 months in and always on time. How much of a difference would it make if I put an extra few payments down? I understand the hard pull and I will be talking to the bank this week.

Without numbers no one can really say. One, knowing the credit score and if going up a few points would really help. Two, how much is your loan and your debt to income ratio. You might be better asking the bank if they think it'll make any difference since they'll know the numbers you have.

 

[Traveling on cc points]

Everything is accurate. I just bought the car 9 months ago so I am 9 months in and always on time. How much of a difference would it make if I put an extra few payments down? I understand the hard pull and I will be talking to the bank this week.

there is no magical number I can give you. If there was a magic formula out there that we could all follow, we would all have 850 scores. .
The lower your score is, the easier it is to boost it with these tips. once you get into the high 700’s/low 800’s it is very slow moving.


I do the whole credit card churning game and have a pretty high score (currently 838)
I just checked and when I hit the 25% paid off mark, my score went up 3 points and when I hit 50% it went up another 4.

there is no guarantee that paying extra payments will improve your score but it definitely won’t hurt and your total debt will show as less when you go to apply for a mortgage. Good luck!!

 

[DLgal]

I’ve built models for a living. They do matter. Financial companies use in house custom models. No one relies on off the shelf FICO models anymore to make decisions.

Here’s an extreme example. SoFi uses your social media profile to come up with part of your score. One piece of data they use is where your friends live. How many live in the same state as you? They can use this to figure out your propensity to move. It’s more difficult to skip trace someone that moves a lot. If you have more out of state than in state friends it also speaks to how stable you are. Another piece of data they use is how many laundromats are close to where you live. This has gotten them into trouble recently.

What if you don't have social media? Then what? And how do they account for people who move frequently as part of their jobs? That sounds really problematic.

 

[jen7233]

I’ve built models for a living. They do matter. Financial companies use in house custom models. No one relies on off the shelf FICO models anymore to make decisions.

Models for credit scoring? That's interesting. Do the companies providing the reason for their decisions to customers including the information you mentioned? Is that for decisions on credit cards, mortgages, auto loans, etc., or a specific type of loan?

I haven't ever noticed my credit score going down with moving. I just moved, and we move often. I'll monitor and watch it and see how it goes.

 

[davper]

You want to establish good credit on your record and a long clean history.

My wife couldn't get a cc in her name because of her credit history. So I had her buy a 1 year $1000 CD at her local bank. Then used that CD as collateral on a secured 1 year personal loan for a $1000. After that was paid off, her credit score soared. She then was able to get an unsecured cc at a great rate. She has had that same card for the past 12 years.

I