Credit scores have such a profound impact in our everyday lives. It’s hard to imagine that a simple three digit number is such a major factor in our financial world whether it’s a credit and loan approval, interest rates, the amount of a down payment or mortgage, the premium on auto insurance, and even job qualification.

Every one of us has an individual credit file that was started at the point when we got our very first credit card or loan.


 Each credit reporting agency maintains completely different databases and not all credit reports are identical from Equifax, Transunion and Experian.

Despite the fact that no two credit reports are alike, there are specific approaches that you can implement that will have a positive effect on all of your reports. Ultimately, the information gathered on your credit report is what generates your credit scores.

Companies such as FICO™, a leading analytics software company, developed a standard measure for consumer credit risk known as the FICO® Score.  Today, it’s the most used credit report scores in the world.

Since credit scores are the quickest way for lenders to assess an individual’s creditworthiness it’s no secret that the goal is to achieve a high credit score. So how can an individual raise their credit scores as fast as possible?

Here are three ways to raise your credit scores fast:

1. Become an authorized user - Getting added to an existing aged credit card account held by a spouse or relative is a powerful and fast way to inherit credit history.

This can add a big boost to your credit score in approximately 30-45 days because it adds favorable payment history. Keep in mind being added as an authorized user does not affect the account holder, but any activity, negative or positive from the major account holder (your spouse) will impact you, the authorized user.

2. Pay more and pay often – Paying more than the minimum monthly payment and increasing payment frequency triggers favorable action and activity on your account. This not only reports favorably but helps pay down debt and improve credit utilization as well. This payment behavior can further improve your payment record with the credit card issuer which plays a role in future credit limit increases.

3. Get credit card utilization below 30 % - There are two types of ratios to pay attention to. There are individual credit utilization ratios and your overall credit utilization ratio. As an example, if you have a card with a $5k limit and you owe $1,500 then you have a 30% credit utilization ratio on that account. Your overall credit utilization ratio includes all of your financial obligations to credit availability combined. As an example, let’s say you have three credit cards that each has a $5k credit limit. You owe $2,500 or 50 % credit utilization on each credit card account. Your overall credit utilization ratio would be 50 % because your overall outstanding debt is $7,500 which is 50 % of the $15k you have in complete readily available credit.

4. Raise your credit card limits – Another fast and effective way to improve your credit utilization is to increase the size of your credit limits. If you have a positive payment record with your existing credit card issuer then consider contacting them and requesting a credit limit increase. Some credit card issuers simply conduct an internal account review to determine eligibility.

Let these powerful strategies act as a guide for raising your individual credit scores fast. Having strong personal credit scores enables you to get the best interest rates and terms available in the credit marketplace.