10 Tips to Boost Your Credit Score Fast in 2025

Your credit score is a three-digit number that reflects how responsibly you manage debt. It’s based on your financial history and predicts your likelihood of repaying loans. Boosting a bad credit score can take time, but there are a few ways to see quick improvement. 

How your credit score is calculated 

Credit score calculations vary depending on the credit score company. In general, FICO is the gold standard for credit scores, and they calculate your score based on five factors: 

• Payment history
• Amount owed
• Length of credit history
• New credit
• Credit mix 

Payment history – 35%: Your payment history refers to your ability to pay your debts and bills on time. If you have consistently paid off your credit card bills, loans, and other debts, credit bureaus will consider you to have a good payment history. 

Amount owed – 30%: Amount owed refers to your credit utilization ratio, which is the amount of credit you use relative to your credit limit. It’s best practice to keep your credit utilization ratio at or below 30%. In other words, if your credit card limit is $10,000, you shouldn’t spend more than $3,000 before paying your bill. 

Length of credit history – 15%: Your length of credit history is determined by your oldest open credit account. The longer your credit history, the better your credit will be. This is why it’s important that you don’t close your oldest credit accounts, as it could hurt your score. 

New credit – 10%: Opening a new credit account every once in a while can boost your score. Just be sure to avoid opening multiple accounts too quickly. 

Credit mix – 10%: Having a variety of credit accounts, such as credit cards, personal loans, mortgages, etc., can improve your credit score. More specifically, it’s good to have forms of revolving credit (credit cards and Lines of Credit) and installment credit (student loans and mortgages). 

How to improve your credit score fast: 10 tips and tricks 

1. Pay your bills on time 

Make every effort to pay your rent, mortgage, car loan, and other bills on time, every time. If you're worried you may forget a payment, sign up for automatic payments, or set up calendar reminders on your phone. 

2. Keep your balances low on all credit cards 

Keeping your balances low on credit cards and Lines of Credit will help you keep a low credit utilization ratio. If you’re struggling to keep your credit usage below 30%, try to make credit card payments every one or two weeks rather than once a month. 

3. Pay off your debt 

Since less debt can improve your credit utilization ratio, it's a good idea to pay off as much debt as you’re able. To do so, pick up a side gig, cut your expenses, or live on a strict budget where you only spend money on essentials. 

4. Be careful of new credit 

While opening new credit accounts can boost your credit, it can also hurt it if you open too many back-to-back. Most experts recommend waiting for at least three to six months between opening new accounts. In fact, some traditional lenders have a 5/24 rule where they’ll automatically reject new accounts if you’ve opened more than five in the last 24 months. 

5. Dispute any credit inquiries 

Anytime you open a new credit account or apply for a loan, your lender may perform a credit inquiry. These inquiries will temporarily lower your score by a few points. If you notice credit pulls or inquiries on your credit report from unknown sources, you can dispute them and undo any credit damage. 

6. Keep old credit accounts open 

Having a lengthy credit history can significantly improve your credit score. Unfortunately, if you’ve just opened your first credit account, it will take one to two years for it to positively reflect in your credit history. On the flip side, if you have an old credit account that you no longer use, it’s better to keep it open rather than close it. 

7. Diversify your credit portfolio 

Lenders and credit unions like to see a diverse credit portfolio, which is why credit mix accounts for 10% of your credit score. Credit mix refers to different types of credit, and not just multiple credit cards. A good credit mix might look something like this: 

• Student loans
• Installment Loans
• Mortgages
• Credit cards
• Lines of Credit
• Gas station cards
• Auto loans
• Payday Loans

8. Become an authorized user on someone else’s credit 

Becoming an authorized user means having someone else sign you up onto their credit account. For instance, if your spouse or parent has a credit card, they may be able to sign you up as an authorized user. 

This is one of the fastest and easiest ways to improve your credit score because you’re benefiting from someone else’s good credit history. You might even see an almost immediate boost without even using the card or account. 

9. Apply for higher credit limits 

Maintaining a low credit utilization ratio is important, but it can be difficult if you have high expenses and low credit availability. As such, it can be beneficial to request a credit increase. This could allow you to spend more without damaging your credit utilization. 

A higher credit limit can also be a good option if you recently opened a new credit account and need to increase your spending without opening another account too quickly. 

10. Apply for a secured credit card 

A secured credit card is similar to a debit card in that it’s backed by cash and not actual credit. Secured credit cards are specifically designed for people who need to boost or rebuild their credit before they can qualify for traditional credit cards. 

Credit score FAQs 

How fast can you increase your credit score? 

The time it takes to improve your credit score depends on what your current score is and the measures you take to improve it. If your score is poor to fair, you’ll see faster results than if you already have a good to exceptional score. 

The best way to improve your credit score fast is by diversifying your credit mix, lowering your utilization ratio, requesting higher credit limits, and becoming an authorized user on someone else’s account. Most other credit improvement methods will take several months to years before you see results. 

What’s considered a good credit score? 

Credit scores are divided into five categories: 

• Poor: 300 – 579
• Fair: 580 – 669
• Good: 670 – 739
• Very good: 740 – 799
• Exceptional: 800 – 850 

A score of 670 or higher is considered a good credit score. 

How to get a loan without a good credit score 

If you don't have time to improve your credit and need some cash to cover an immediate expense, Advance America can help. We offer a variety of loans and work with good, fair, or even bad credit. 

Apply online now

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