Your FICO scores are made up of 5 categories, here are some tips to improve each of them.
Payment History
Make sure to check if derogatory items on your credit report are inaccurate, unverifiable, or outdated and try to get them removed if possible.
Pay your bills on time, especially those that report on your credit report, such as car payments and credit cards.
Be cautious about paying off old collection debt as it may not improve your credit scores and could even lower them.
Becoming an authorized user on a spouse’s credit card can improve your credit scores if done properly and ethically.
Amounts Owed
Get a secured credit card to start building positive payment history and improving your credit scores.
Request an increase in credit limit on your credit cards to help lower your overall utilization percentage.
Make sure all credit limits are reported on your credit report.
Having at least one credit card is important for your credit scores, and keeping your credit card balances below 10% of your available limit is ideal.
Make your payment before your credit card company reports to the credit bureaus to keep your balance low and improve your credit scores.
Length of Credit History
Being added as an authorized user on a spouse’s credit card with a long history of positive payments can improve your credit scores.
Having a long-standing open credit card can help build your length of credit history.
Do not close any of your open accounts, as it will lower your average age of accounts and hurt your credit scores.
Types of Credit
Having a healthy mix of different types of credit, such as installment loans and revolving accounts, shows that you are less of a risk and can handle multiple payments.
New Credit
Be careful about applying for too much credit, as inquiries can hurt your credit scores for a year.
Overall, the key to improving your credit scores is to make payments on time, maintain a low utilization percentage, have a mix of different types of credit, and manage inquiries reasonably.