Tips to Increase Your Credit Score
Tips to Increase Your Credit Score
- Don’t- pay off any collections unless you use payment as collateral (in writing) to get item removed. Collections hurt the same if they are paid or not.
- Don’t- Cancel any Credit Card, this actually hurts your score.
- Do- use your credit lines that are paid off to keep them active, borrowing $20.00 on each every 3 months keeps them active and helps your debt ratio.
- Do- Set up Automatic Payments for Credit Cards
- Do-Pay at least $1.00 over minimum payment required
- Don’t- Use more than 30% of any one card available credit limit, move balances around if you have to, or pay down.
- Do- Call all credit cards and ask for “ Increase in Credit Limit “all on the same day, once they agree to an increase , also ask for a Lower interest rate to help pay down balance faster, this helps your debt ratio.
- Do- Become an authorized user to family member’s good credit card only if you have the same last name, the bureaus new policies only work on family members where lineage is obvious. Your score won’t hurt their score and don’t use their card.
- Do- Pay Bills when you receive them, not when due.
- Do- Make copy of your driver’s license and send to all 3 bureaus saying” This is my one and only correct name and address please adjust my report accordingly” Do this only if you have more than one name and address on your report.
- Don’t- Co-sign on any loans.
- Do – Sign all dispute letters with Blue ink as this keeps your file handled by a person at the bureaus rather than a computer (Better Results)
- Do- Sign up for monthly monitoring, after you get your score 620 or more. If you’re on a service now, and need to dispute anything, temporarily cancel as the bureaus will want you to do all credit fixing via internet which will not bring the best results.
- Don’t- Buy anything on credit if you’re applying for a home loan, wait until escrow closes as lenders do a last minute credit check before funding.
