1. Make a polite request and take advantage of someone else’s excellent credit.
If you know someone with good credit — a parent, sibling, or spouse — asking them to add you as an authorized user to one of their credit cards is a quick way to improve your credit score.
When you sign on as an authorized user on someone else’s account, their payment history is immediately transferred to your credit report.
Even if you never use the card, your credit score benefits as long as you pay on time and keep your balances low.
Being an authorized user may have one disadvantage. If the individual on whose account you’re listed misses a payment, you’ll get a bad note on your credit report as well.
2. Increase the credit card limits on your cards
You may increase your available credit in a matter of minutes by calling or going online. If you’ve always paid on time and haven’t maxed out your account, getting authorized shouldn’t be too difficult.
The goal is to raise your credit usage ratio, which is a fancy way of saying how much debt you have compared to your entire credit limit. The bigger your debt-to-income ratio, the worse your credit score will be.
Instead, do you have a secured credit card? Here’s what you can do: just increase your deposit by handing over extra cash to the credit card issuer.
You may also increase your credit limit by getting a new credit card. Just bear in mind that every time you apply for a new account, you’ll lose roughly 5 points. Look for a credit card that matches your spending habits.
3. Make A Series Of’ Micropayments.
Stop paying your credit card bill once a month if you’re still doing so. Change your calendar to a weekly or bimonthly one – here’s an example of why.
Assume I have a credit line of $20,000 but $15,000 in credit card debt. That indicates I’m utilizing 75% of my credit limit. Instead of paying $1,000 in one lump sum every month, I may make weekly installments of $250 each.
The more I pay before the following billing statement, the lower my usage ratio becomes, which raises my credit score.
4. Request that your landlord record your rent payments to credit reporting agencies.
Your punctual rent payments can now be factored into your credit score formula according to a new rule. It is up to the landlord whether or not to report it, so simply inquire.
5. Keep an eye on things.
OK, so this isn’t quite a hack, but it’s crucial because you may be well on your way to improving your credit with the four hacks stated above, but if you’re not monitoring your credit report for errors, it’s all for naught.
Here’s what you should do:
- AnnualCreditReport.com will provide you with three free credit reports.
- Sign up for CreditKarma or BillGuard to get credit alerts in the event that a criminal tries to create a credit card in your name.
- Any errors should be reported to the credit bureaus. This is normally accomplished through the use of a letter.