How To Raise Your Credit Score By 200 Points

Have you ever wondered how to raise your credit score by 200 points?

Is it possible to raise your credit score by 200 points in a short period?

According to the most recent statistics, a significant number of people have a low credit score (300–549). And if you are among that unfortunate number, or you want a way to boost your FICO Score so you can get access to a new credit card or loan, then stick around till the end of this post to see how you can quickly raise your credit score by 200 points.

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Your credit score is what lenders used to assess how much risk would be involved in lending you money. A high credit score often means that you pose less risk to lenders and that you would have no problem getting approval for competitive loans, and lower interest rates on premium credit cards. While having a low credit score often means you pose a greater risk to lenders and you’ll likely get no approval on good loans and higher interest rates on the loans that you get approval for.

Today, we’ll be talking about how to raise your credit score by 200 points. And to do that, we’ll be exploring the following;

1. How your credit score is calculated?
   
2. How to know if your credit score needs boosting
   
3. How to raise your credit score by 200 points
   
4. How long will it take to raise your score by 200 points?
   
5. How to use Experian boost to raise your credit score by 200 points
   

By the time we get to the end, you’ll be armed with different tips and tricks to help you raise your credit score by 200 points. Sit back and enjoy.

How Is Your Credit Score Calculated?

As you know, your credit score is a 3-digit number used by banks and other lenders to assess how creditworthy you are. If you want to get easy approval for the best loan deals and also enjoy benefits and rewards on loans and credit cards, then you must have a good credit score, i.e. 670-739 (FICO). 

Now, before you can raise your credit score by 200 points, it is necessary to know how your credit score is calculated in the first place, so you’ll be able to make the right adjustments that will raise your credit score by 200 points. Here is a breakdown of how your credit score is calculated;

1. Payment History (35%); How early you pay back loans is the major decider of your credit score and if you are looking to raise your credit score by 200 points, you need to take a serious look at your payment history.
   
   
2. The total amount owed (30%); As you can see, it makes up to 30% of your credit score, and just like your payment history, it is another area you have to work on if you want to raise your credit score by 200 points.
   
   
3. Length of your credit history (15%); The time you’ve had credit also affects your credit score significantly. The age of your newest and oldest credit accounts affects your credit score directly. Having old credit accounts that are in good condition will help you raise your credit score by 200 points.
   
   
4. Credit Mix (10%); Managing a diverse range of credit accounts properly is another step to take if you want to raise your credit score by 200 points. Combining installment accounts and revolving accounts will boost your credit score.
   
   
5. Recent Credit (10%); Lenders want to know that you are not heavily dependent on credit, and one way of doing that is by looking at how much credit you have applied for in recent times. So if you are looking to raise your credit score by 200 points, it is important to make sure you aren’t applying for too many loans in a short period.
   
   

How To Raise Your Credit Score By 200 Points

Now that we’ve understood the major factors used to calculate your credit score, it is time to understand how each of those factors can raise your credit score by 200 points. Here are a few simple tips to follow;

1. Early bill payments;, Remember your payment history? Well, to make sure that it doesn’t work against you, it is important to pay all your bills on time. Another trick is to pay your bills before their due date. This will directly improve your payment history and help you raise your credit score by 200 points.
   
2. Clear Overdue payments; If you have a poor credit score (below 580), you likely have overdue payments that you have not cleared. This significantly reduces your credit score and you must clear all overdue payments if you want to raise your credit score by 200 points.
   
3. Minimize your short-term loan requests; Make sure you are not applying for a lot of credit in a short amount of time or this will hurt your efforts to raise your credit score by 200 points.
   
4. Try Debt Consolidation; “Debt consolidation” refers to taking out a loan that will offset other debts. The earlier you clear up all your debts, the faster your credit score will rise and soon you’ll be able to raise your credit score by 200 points.
   
5. Make bill payments twice per month; Paying your bills twice per month instead of once will significantly reduce your credit utilization rate, which will significantly boost your ability to raise your credit score by 200 points.
   
6. Keep your “Credit Utilization Rate” low; Credit Utilization Rate (C.U.R) refers to the amount of credit you are currently using. Many financial institutions and borrowers prefer individuals with a C. U. R of less than 30%. This can be achieved by not using all the credit available to you and paying out credit cards that are close to their limit. Keeping your credit utilization rate below 15% is a rapid way to raise your credit score by 200 points.
   
7. Request for a “Credit limit increase” or apply for an extra credit card; Increasing the amount of credit available to you, especially if you can’t reduce the amount of revolving credit you are using, is another way of reducing your credit utilization rate. Applying for a new credit card or a credit limit increase is a way to raise your credit score by 200 points.
   
8. Get a Credit Builder Savings Account; A credit-builder account is a type of account that helps people build up their credit score by adding an installment loan to a savings account. You are usually supposed to pay the loan over 12-24 months. The installment and all your early monthly payments will be reported to the main credit rating agencies and they will boost your credit ratings. This is another easy way to raise your credit score by 200 points.
    
9. Go over your credit reports regularly; Reviewing your credit report regularly is not only good but also necessary, especially if you want to raise your credit score by 200 points. Errors in credit reports are a very common thing and you’ll suffer from the damages of wrong information on your credit reports if you do not check them regularly.
   
10. Keep old credit cards to boost your score; Having old, unused credit cards open helps you to maintain a low credit utilization rate. Remember that your credit history contributes as much as 15% to your credit score, and keeping old credit cards to reduce your credit utilization rate is another good way to raise your credit score by 200 points.
    
11. Apply for a secured credit card; A secured credit card is backed by an initial cash deposit that is equal to the credit card’s limit. If you don’t pay the money back, the lender can easily take the money from your deposit. This represents less risk to lenders. Using a secured credit card can be an easy way to raise your credit score by 200 points, especially if you have bad credit.

12. Contact a credit monitoring expert. Another sure way to raise your credit score by 200 points is to contact a credit monitoring expert. Credit monitoring experts can help show you areas of your credit that would need improvement and they can guide you through making those improvements.
    
    

Consistency is key when you are looking to raise your credit score by 200 points, so practice the above tips for long enough and you would begin to improvements in your credit score

How To Know If Your Credit Score Needs Boosting;

Now, you’re probably wondering if you need to raise your credit score by 200 points. Well, here are the various credit score ranges so you can know where you stand;

• Very Poor (300–579); This is the lowest range and if you belong here, it is very difficult to get access to any loans or credit. However, an available option for people in this category is a Loan.
  
• Poor (580–669); People in this range might get access to some types of secured credit cards and personal loans. They are also mortgages and auto loans that target people in this range. If you are in this range, you need to raise your credit score by 200 points to enter the safe zone of a “good credit score”.
  
• Good (679-739); This is the minimum credit score range that can be safe. In this range, most lenders are open to doing business with you. You don’t need to raise your credit score by 200 points in this stage, but doing so will help you.
  
• Very Good (740-739); In this range, you’ll find credit products easily. You’ll also get very good and competitive rates for the credit products, I.e. mortgages, personal loans, credit cards, and auto loans.
  
• Excellent (800-850); This is the highest a person can come in terms of credit scores. Less than 20% of people make it into this range. In this range, you’ll get the best rates on credit products. You will even get rewards and lower interest rates on many credit cards. In this range, you won’t be able to raise your credit score by 200 points.
  
  

As you can see, if you fall between good to excellent, then you don’t need to worry about boosting your credit score. However, if you fall in the ranges below “good”, then stick around to know how you can raise your credit score by 200 points.

How Long Will It Take To Raise Your Credit Score By 200 Points

Now, while the tips listed above will raise your credit score by 200 points, the time it will take depends on your present credit score and your credit account behaviors. How much your present credit score is and how you handle your credit accounts.

For example;, A person with a “fair” credit score with a long history of credit accounts and regular on-time payments will see a faster boost to their credit score than a similar individual with a long history of credit accounts and also a long history of missed payments.

However, with patience, determination, and good credit management practices, you will raise your credit score by 200 points. Don’t be bothered by the time it takes you, as years of poor credit management habits won’t wash away overnight.

How To Use Experian Boost To Raise Your Credit Score By 200 Points;

Another way to raise your credit score by 200 points is to sign up for Experian Boost. Experian Boost collects non-debt payments like your phone and utility bills from your bank statement and adds them to your reports. Experian claims that an average user observes a 13-point increase in their credit score when they sign up.

The Boost feature, however, is used only by Experian. So if you get your credit reports from Equifax and/or TransUnion, then you won’t see any change.

Conclusion;

Having and maintaining a good credit score is a marathon, not a sprint. Likewise, the damage done to most credit scores by years of poor credit management can’t be undone in a few weeks. However, if you use this guide properly, you will soon raise your credit score by 200 points.

You can also enroll in our do it yourself credit repair master class to give you head start.