A lot of times people don’t give much thought to their credit score until they actually need it to apply for something like a loan or an apartment. In those instances when you have a short window and need your credit score to be as high as possible right now, there are few things you can do. Below I’m gonna break down three ways you can quickly push up your score.

1) Review credit report and look for errors – By law you are entitled to a free credit report from each of the three credit reporting agencies once per year.  Go to www.annualcreditreport.com and take a close look at your credit reports for inaccuracies and false information. Things like accounts/debt that is not yours or accounts that show you paid late but in fact you did not. Dispute these inaccuracies directly with the creditor to get them removed.

2) Pay down debt – One of the largest factors that contributes to your credit score is how much money you owe versus how high your credit limit is. Say for example you have a credit card with a $1000 credit limit. If your balance owed is $900, that means you’re using 90% of the limit. That high rate is bringing your score down. It’s said that ideally you would want to be using no more than 30% of your limit. Sticking with the same example, that means you should aim to pay your balance down so your balance owed is $300 or less.

Bonus Tip: If you’re not in a position to make that kind of payment right away, what you can also do is pay some of it down and then call your credit card company and ask them if they are able to increase your credit limit without running your credit report. If they agree and bump your credit limit up to, say $1500, now, instead of your $900 balance using 90% of your credit limit, it will only be using 60% ($900 balance owed/$1500 new credit limit= 60%). Beware: If you do get the increase that means you will have more available credit. Be responsible!

3) Make credit card payments multiple times per month – Your credit card company typically reports your balances once per month to the credit bureaus. Even if you pay your card in full each month, if the card company only reports what your statement balance is before you make your payment, then your credit report will show as if you’re always running a balance. If you make multiple payments in the month, it is likely at least one of those payments will be reflected on your credit report, showing a reduced balance.

For more info on how your credit score is determined check this post.