4 ways to quickly raise your credit score

Don’t miss a payment

This is the number one thing that credit bureaus look at when determining your credit score. Your payment history makes up 35% of your FICO score. If you have trouble remembering to pay your credit card on time, set a reminder on your phone or auto schedule your payment.

Pay as often as you can

Going a step further, pay on your debt as often as you can. Just because your payment isn’t due for 3 weeks, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go ahead and make a payment. You don’t know when your credit card company reports your balance to the credit bureaus, so try and keep as low a balance as possible.

Reduce your debt

Even if you’re making regular payments on your credit card, the goal is to get it paid off. If you’re keeping a balance from month to month, you’re getting charged more interest than you should be. Try and pay off your balance each month, and if that’s not possible, make your balance as low as you can. You should aim to keep your credit utilization under 30%.

Raise your credit limit

This is more of a trick than a solution, but it can work for you. If you’ve used $950 on a $1,000 limit, try getting that limit raised to $2,000. Now you’ve got a card that’s only 50% utilized as opposed to one that’s nearly maxed out.