Other, Less Well-Known Ways to Raise a FICO Score
Stumped on how to raise your credit score? Here are a few other less-well known techniques courtesy of Christina Couch’s column on CardRatings.com:
Goodwill is one of the perks of being a “good” credit customer. Being on friendly terms with card issuers combined with a long history of reliable payments could be enough for credit issuers to drop an item with a negative effect on credit score – as long as you request a “goodwill deletion” first.
Public notices like bankruptcies, judgments and tax liens should be dealt with as soon as possible. These will do serious damage to credit scores (as in a 100-point drop) in the first two years they come up, so avoiding them should take the greatest priority.
Maintain old credit histories by keeping old credit cards alive and kicking. Not only do the previous records of payment reflect on the credit report, but doing so also raises a person’s credit utilization – something that lets that person borrow more with a credit card while avoiding a hit to credit score.
Early payments right before the bill comes can help lower utilization as well. A $500 charge made on a $1,000 limit card will incur a utilization of 50% and a hefty credit score hit. Paying off $250 before the bill comes will lower the charge to $250 – leaving the utilization at 25% and cushioning the impact of making a major purchase.