How to Improve Your Credit Score
Whether you're looking to boost an average score or rebuild after financial difficulties, these proven strategies can help you improve your creditworthiness over time.
Improving Your Credit Score: The Timeline
Improving your credit score is a journey that requires patience and consistent financial discipline. Understanding the typical timeline helps set realistic expectations.
While some actions can provide small, quick improvements, significant changes to your credit score typically take months, not days or weeks. The more severe your credit issues, the longer your recovery period will be.
This page outlines both quick wins for immediate impact and long-term strategies for sustainable credit improvement. Remember that everyone's credit situation is unique, and results may vary based on your individual circumstances.
Typical Improvement Timeline
1-3 Months
Small improvements may be seen by correcting errors, reducing credit utilization, and setting up automatic payments. Expect potential score increases of 10-30 points.
3-6 Months
With consistent on-time payments and reduced credit utilization, more noticeable improvements may occur. Late payments begin to have less impact as they age.
6-12 Months
With half a year of positive credit behavior, your score should show substantial improvement. Hard inquiries begin to have less impact after 6 months.
12-24 Months
After a full year of responsible credit management, even serious negative items like defaults begin to have less impact. Scores may improve significantly, potentially by 100+ points from where you started.
Quick Wins for Credit Score Improvement
These strategies can help you see faster improvements to your credit score, often within a few months.
Check for Errors
Review your credit report for errors and dispute any inaccuracies
Reduce Credit Utilization
Pay down credit card balances to below 30% of your credit limit
Set Up Auto-Pay
Ensure all future payments are made on time with automatic payments
Become an Authorized User
Ask a family member with good credit to add you as an authorized user
Avoid "Quick Fix" Credit Repair Scams
Be wary of companies promising to "instantly" repair your credit or remove accurate negative information from your report. Legitimate credit improvement takes time, and there are no shortcuts to removing accurate information. Any company promising to create a "new credit identity" or "clean slate" is likely running a scam that could get you into legal trouble.
Long-Term Credit Improvement Strategies
These fundamental practices will help you build and maintain an excellent credit score over time.
Never Miss a Payment
Consistently pay all your bills on time, every time
Payment history accounts for 35% of your credit score. Set up automatic payments or calendar reminders to ensure you never miss a due date.
Keep Credit Utilization Low
Maintain credit card balances below 30% of your total credit limit
Credit utilization accounts for 30% of your score. Consider requesting credit limit increases or making multiple payments throughout the month to keep utilization low.
Maintain Older Accounts
Keep your longest-standing credit accounts open and active
Credit age makes up 15% of your score. Avoid closing old credit cards, even if you rarely use them. Make a small purchase every few months to keep them active.
Diversify Your Credit Mix
Hold different types of credit accounts (cards, loans) responsibly
Credit mix accounts for 10% of your score. Having both revolving credit (credit cards) and installment loans (home loans, car loans) can improve your score if managed well.
Limit Hard Inquiries
Apply for new credit only when necessary
New credit applications account for 10% of your score. Each application can cause a small temporary decrease in your score, so space out credit applications.
Rebuilding a Damaged Credit Score
If you've experienced serious credit problems like defaults, settlements, or bankruptcy, these steps can help you rebuild your creditworthiness.
Step-by-Step Credit Rebuilding Plan
- 1
Resolve Outstanding Issues
Settle or pay off any outstanding defaults, collections, or overdue accounts. Request "paid in full" or "settled" status in writing.
Pro Tip: For collections accounts, you may be able to negotiate a "pay for delete" agreement where the creditor removes the negative item in exchange for payment. - 2
Establish New Credit Cautiously
Apply for a secured credit card that reports to credit bureaus. These cards require a security deposit but are easier to qualify for with damaged credit.
Pro Tip: Look for a secured card that can be upgraded to a regular credit card after 6-12 months of responsible use. - 3
Perfect Payment Record
Make all payments on time, every time. Set up automatic payments to ensure you never miss a due date. Even a single late payment can significantly set back your rebuilding efforts.
Pro Tip: Set payment dates a few days before the actual due date to account for processing time. - 4
Consider a Credit Builder Loan
These specialized loans are designed to help build credit. The money you "borrow" is held in a savings account while you make payments, and is released to you when the loan is fully paid.
Pro Tip: Many banks and credit unions offer these products specifically for credit building purposes. - 5
Monitor and Patience
Regularly check your credit report to ensure your positive behavior is being reported accurately. Be patient—rebuilding credit after serious negative events takes time, but consistent responsible behavior will yield results.
Pro Tip: Consider a full credit recovery to take 12-24 months. Celebrate small improvements along the way.
Credit Improvement FAQs
How long will it take to improve my score from 600 to 750?
This depends on what's impacting your current score. If you have no major negative items and just high utilization or limited credit history, you might see this improvement in 6-12 months with disciplined behavior. If you have defaults or collections, it could take 1-2 years of consistent positive credit activity.
Should I close credit cards I don't use?
Generally, no. Keeping unused credit cards open (especially older ones) helps your credit score by maintaining a longer credit history and lower overall credit utilization. However, if a card has a high annual fee and no benefits, you might consider closing it—but only after opening another card to replace the available credit.
Will paying off a loan improve my score immediately?
Paying off a loan can sometimes cause a temporary small drop in your score due to changes in your credit mix. However, this is usually minor and temporary. The long-term benefit of reducing debt outweighs any short-term score fluctuations, and your score should recover and improve within a few months.
How can I raise my score by 50 points quickly?
The fastest way to see a significant increase is usually by reducing credit card utilization (pay down balances well below 30% of limits). If you have errors on your report, disputing and removing them can also provide a quick boost. Finally, becoming an authorized user on someone else's well-established, positive credit account can help improve your score relatively quickly.
Is it better to pay off my credit card in full or keep a small balance?
It's always better to pay your credit card in full each month. The myth that carrying a balance improves your score is false—it only costs you money in interest charges. What matters for your credit score is your reported utilization ratio, which is typically based on your statement balance, not whether you pay in full.