5 Tips to Improve Your Credit Score
Greg Vogel | September 10, 2009- Only open new credit accounts when you really need them. Don’t open accounts for the purpose of improving your credit or getting a discount on a purchase – it probably won’t raise your credit score. In some cases, it may even lower your score.
- Pay your bills on time. Remember that payment history counts for 35% of your score. Derogatory payment information can and WILL have a major negative impact on your scores for 7 to 10 years.
- Watch your credit card and/or revolving account balances! High outstanding credit card debt can really hurt your credit score. Your debt levels account for 30% of your score. Keeping your utilization (percentage of credit limits used) around 10% will give you the most points in this category.
- Avoid the transfer game and pay off your debts rather than moving them around from one credit card to another. Transferring your debt doesn’t affect a total revolving debt figure – it’s best to pay it down.
- Don’t close unused credit cards as a short-term strategy to raise your FICO scores. This approach almost always backfires and lowers your credit scores.
