Your daily life is pretty much dependent on your credit score starting from the interest rate you’ll pay on your house loan to whether you’ll be hired for a particular company. So, if you’re looking for a quick and easy way to raise your credit score in just a few days, it’s totally understandable.
However, building a credit score overnight isn’t really a cakewalk. It takes a lot of time and effort to boost your credit score and build a solid credit history. But there are some steps you can follow to raise your credit score by at least 100 points in a short duration.
Track your credit report
Did you know that you can acquire a free credit report from the three major credit bureaus once in a year? Get yourself a copy of the same and look for errors that can lower your credit score. If you come across any, immediately raise a dispute. Some disputes might take a day or two to get resolved, while in some cases it may take more than a month.
It’s worth keeping an eye on your credit report, even if you are confident about the fact that there aren’t any errors. Research reveals more than 68% of consumer reporting complaints received by the bureaus were regarding incorrect information in their credit reports.
Lower your credit utilization rate
Reducing your balances is perhaps one of the most effective ways to boost your credit score. Experts recommend that you should not use more than 30% of your credit limit if you want to build a solid credit history. However, if you have any derogatory marks on your credit report such as late payments, you might not witness a rise in your score.
If your credit utilization is currently over 30%, and paying off debt isn’t possible for you, you can do the following to lower your credit utilization.
- Ask for a credit limit increase
- Acquire a personal loan to pay off your credit card
- Get yourself a new credit card
Avoid default payments
Make sure to clear off your credit card bills and loans on time, every time. If you fail to do so, you might experience a dip in your credit or CIBIL score. Whereas, paying your bills on time can raise your credit score quickly. You can even consider setting up automatic payments or sign-up or email alerts from your credit card issuer to never miss a payment.
Don’t close your credit accounts
Closing your old or unused credit accounts is a bad idea as that can lower your overall credit limit thereby affecting your credit score. Therefore, even if you feel that you won’t be using a particular card, you should still keep it open. This will give your creditors an impression that you are a responsible cardholder who can manage his credit efficiently. Moreover, a longer credit history can help in building a good credit score.
Request for late payment forgiveness
It’s no secret that paying your bills on time can hugely impact your credit score. So, if you are a good and trusted customer who failed to repay bills, you can call up the credit card issuer and request them to forgive your mistakes and not to report the default payment to the credit bureaus. But remember, you won’t be able to do this every now and then. It is likely to work only once or twice.
Report rent and utility payments
Did you know that paying utilities and rent can also help in building your credit score? Yes, you read that right. All you have to do is call up your utility company and landlord and ask them to begin reporting your payments. If you can convince them, you are likely to witness a rise in your credit score. Of course, that won’t take place overnight, however it will enable you to build your credit history without taking on more debt.
Become an authorized user
This is by far one of the easiest ways to boost your credit or CIBIL score. You may become an authorized user on any of your family member’s account or on your employer’s business credit account in case you have a long employment history. However, if you choose to become an authorized user make sure to go for a person who has a good credit score. If not, their poor habits can affect your credit score.
Don’t apply for multiple credits
It is important to note that applying for too many credits simultaneously can bring down your credit score. So, apply for credit only when you’re in need of it. If you are doing it just for the sake of increasing your available credit, you might end up getting nowhere.
The Bottom Line
Building a solid credit score in a day isn’t really an easy job. But if you practice some good credit habits, it is sure to take you a long way. Just keep a few basic things in mind- pay your bills on time, and lower your credit utilization. It is also advisable to monitor your credit report regularly in order to identify errors that can pull down your credit score.
