How to improve your credit score

Pay every bill on time and get your credit card balances well under 30% of your limits. Lower balances can lift your score within a month or two, while late payments take longer to fade.

Five things make up the score

For FICO scores, payment history is about 35%, amounts owed about 30%, length of credit history about 15%, new credit about 10% and credit mix about 10%. Other scores use similar factors.

Keep utilization under 30%

The CFPB suggests using no more than 30% of your total credit limit. Lower is usually better. The ratio is figured per card and across all your cards.

Late payments fade slowly

A late payment can stay on your report for 7 years, though its effect on your score shrinks as it gets older and you add on-time months.

Errors are worth checking

You can see your reports from each bureau for free. Wrong late payments, wrong balances and accounts that aren't yours can all lower your score, and you can dispute them.

Start with your reports

Your score is built from your credit reports, so read them first. Get them free at AnnualCreditReport.com, where you can check free weekly from each of the three bureaus at AnnualCreditReport.com. Look at every account: is it yours, is the balance right, are the late payments real.

If something is wrong, dispute it with the bureau that shows it and with the company that reported it. Fixing a single wrong late payment can do more for your score than months of other effort.

Never miss another payment

Payment history is the largest part of most scores. A payment usually gets reported as late once it's 30 days past due, and that mark can stay for 7 years. Avoiding the next one matters more than anything you can do about past ones.

Set autopay for at least the minimum on every card and loan, and add a calendar reminder a few days before each due date. If you're about to miss a payment, call the lender before it's 30 days late. Many have hardship options or can move your due date.

Bring card balances down

Utilization is the share of your card limits you're using. $1,500 of balances on $5,000 of limits is 30%. It's the part of your score that can move fastest, because the scoring math uses the latest balances reported, not a long average.

Pay down the cards with the highest utilization first, or the highest interest rate if you're carrying debt. Paying a few days before each statement closes lowers what gets reported, even if you pay in full every month anyway.

Asking for a higher limit can also lower your ratio, as long as you don't spend into it. Ask whether the request causes a hard inquiry first.

Let your history age

Length of credit history counts too. Keep old cards open, especially ones with no annual fee, so your average account age keeps growing. Using an old card for one small bill and paying it off keeps it active.

New accounts lower your average age and add a hard inquiry. That's fine when you need the account. Just don't open several at once to chase a score.

If you have little or no credit

A thin file, meaning few accounts, can mean a low score or no score. Two common starting points are a secured credit card, where your deposit sets the limit, and a credit-builder loan. Being added as an authorized user on a family member's well-run card can also help.

Rent, utility and phone payments help only when they're reported to the bureaus. Ask your landlord or a rent reporting service whether they report, and to which bureaus.

How long it takes

Lower card balances can show up as soon as the card companies report them, often within 30 to 60 days. Removing a wrong item can take about a month after you dispute it.

Recovering from late payments, collections or a bankruptcy takes longer. Their effect fades over months and years of clean history. There's no legal way to erase accurate items early, so ignore anyone who promises a fast fix for a fee.