How to Boost Your Credit Card Scores
Saturday, July 23rd, 2011Solid credit card scores are crucial for everybody. Lending is now tightening up and these financial institutions are raising the base credit scores higher and higher. There are some very simple and practical ways in order to build good credit card scores. You can use this not only to raise your rating but also maintain a good one.
Get your credit report:
You have to pay a fee to get your exact score. You can opt to get your score for free from companies like Equifax, TransUnion and Experian. They offer annual releases of credit card scores. All you need to do is request a report online. There are sites that allow you to do that but for a fee. You can find a website that offers this service with no fees at all. This site has been released as a reaction to the legislation to require the companies to offer reports.
Know your “open” accounts:
You cannot rely only on credit reports to show what open accounts you have. There are some companies that do not report at all. If you are an avid “collector” of credit cards and you have the need for more than 12 slots, then it might be best to be well aware about your accounts as long as they are open. Sometimes, people do not close an account they do not use for the “just in case” reason. Companies are now closing inactive accounts and when your account goes down, your credit card scores can go down as well. It is not safe to assume that using them again will result to better rating but it would be best to be aware of what you have open for the past year or so. This will give you an idea of what could have affected your score.
Make automated payments:
As we all know, as long as you pay your bills on time. Your credit card scores will stay in good shape. A few days of late payment can be a minus to your score. If you forget to pay, you can have a bad record and it can also worsen your score. The best way to minimize the problem of late payments is to set up automated payments especially for your recurring obligations such as your student, auto loans or mortgage. If you miss your payment, especially for credit cards, the results can be higher rates and this will not be appealing for anyone living in tight budgets.
Your balance is a serious matter:
Do you know how much balance you actually have? Do you have a record of how much money you have paid and how much is left of your debt? Knowing your balance means knowing your goal. You can make it easier for yourself to know what is coming up for you and what roadblocks might happen. If you know that you are $5000 short to fully paying all your debts, you can make preparations better. This works better for people with bigger loans.
Related articles
- Lenders Must Reveal Reasons for Rejection (thestreet.com)
- Can you get a credit card with a 611 credit score (wiki.answers.com)
- Advantages and Risks of Zero Credit Score Credit Cards (creditcardscore.org)


