*Disclosure: This page may contain affiliate links. We receive a small commission if you purchase something we recommend (at no cost to you). All opinions remain our own.

How to Raise Your Credit Score By 50 to 100+ Points

A good-to-exceptional credit rating will dramatically increase your chances of getting better interest rates on loans, and even landing that dream job. The repercussions of a poor credit score, on the other hand, include higher interest rates, higher insurance premiums, and some banking institutions might deny your request for credit altogether.  

Credit scores range between 300 and 850, and as of 2019 adults in the U.S. have an average credit rating of 703. 

If this isn’t the case for you, it’s possible to improve your credit score. Here’s how to improve your credit score by 50 to 100 points (or more).

1. Pay Bills on Time

The first step is to establish a history of on-time payments. Payment history makes up 35 percent of your credit score.  

On-time payments show a history of reliability and good money management abilities, and lenders will look at your history to see if you’re financially responsible.

Good credit habits can help you avoid late payment fees and high interest rates, ultimately saving you money in the long run. You can pay bills on time by setting up automatic payments each month, adding due dates to your calendar as a reminder, or paying your bills early each month – so you don’t forget. 

2. Pay Down Debt

The amount of revolving debt you owe makes up 30 percent of your credit score. Credit utilization is an important factor when it comes to your credit report. 

This is the portion of credit you use compared to your available credit. It’s ideal to have a credit utilization of 30% or less. Paying down credit cards can bring down your utilization ratio, thus improving your credit score.

3. Clean Up Credit Report

On average, 1 in 5 people have an error on their credit report. This is why it’s crucial to check your credit for errors at least once a year. Each credit bureau has its own website for you to check your credit report (TransUnion, Equifax, Experian). 

Or, you can request free copies of your credit reports from AnnualCreditReport.com. 

You’re entitled to one free credit report from each of the bureaus every 12 months. Mistakes on your credit report can lower your credit score. This includes mistakes related to missed payments, balance history, and unfamiliar accounts. 

4. Only Apply for Credit When Necessary

It’s important to only apply for credit when necessary, especially if you’re working to improve your credit score. 

Multiple credit inquiries can affect your credit score. If you have a short credit history, or even less than stellar credit, multiple inquiries can raise red flags for lenders. They may deem you as a credit risk. 

When applying for financing, it’s best to apply during a short period of time. For example, when shopping around for a car, even though the dealership submits your application to various financial institutions, this will only count as one inquiry. 

The same goes for finding a mortgage lender. Multiple inquiries when rate shopping only count as one inquiry, when completed in a short period of time. The inquiry will show individually on your credit report, but the hit to your credit score is minor — it might only take off 5 points.

5. Get Professional Help

Even though you can absolutely fix your credit yourself, some tools can make the process faster. To be clear, though, credit repair services cannot remove legitimate negative items from your credit report. Some services, however, can provide personalized guidance based. 

Again, a lot goes into improving your credit such as paying your bills on time and paying down credit card debt. But it also helps to have a strategy based on your unique situation, because what you need to do to increase your score might be different from what another person needs to do.

As far as coming up with a plan that works for you, a tool called ScoreMaster might help.

Based on your target score, it’ll create a personalized plan to help you understand what’s helping your credit score (as well as what’s hurting it), and you’ll learn about actions you can take to qualify for better rates

It also provides insight on the best times to apply for financing. Additionally, you can use ScoreMaster to resolve issues on your credit report, and protect your privacy by removing personal information from websites.