SUMMARY: There are many ways how to improve credit score. The first is knowing your credit and learning what a credit score is.
- What is a credit score?
- How to improve credit score
- Loans at BlendPH
There are many ways to answer the questions “how to know my credit score” and “how to improve credit score.” But to be honest, nothing will increase or boost credit line or your credit score faster or more effective than paying your bills on time and using your credit cards sensibly. But before answering these questions, what first is a credit score?
What is a credit score?
A credit score is your credit history summary. It is a commonly used method for ledgers to predict the likelihood of a credit card owner paying the loans they make to them. A credit score ranges from 300, considered poor, to 850, regarded as excellent.
Higher credit scores mean that the credit card owner has a good credit history, on-time payments, low credit use, and lengthy credit history. On the other hand, lower scores mean that borrowers may be risky investments because of their late payments or overextended use of credit. There are precisely no cut-offs for a good score or a bad score. However, some guidelines can determine each. For example, most lenders view scores above 720 as ideal and below 630 as problematic.
As times are changing and developing, consumers are now more aware of “how to know my credit,” how to improve credit score, how they can boost credit line, and how these things affect their financial outlook. As people go through life, their credit scores will fluctuate. It will depend on how reliable they are at repaying their debts on time, especially credit cards and installment loans. Be mindful that when you use credit more often. Whether the reason is getting more credit cards, a mortgage, or taking out a student or auto loan, it will affect your credit score and reflect how you deal with the responsibility of having more debt. You can boost your credit line by paying consistently for all your bills and being a responsible credit holder.
How to improve credit score?
To help with answering the questions “how to know my credit score” and how to boost credit line, here are seven ways how to improve credit score:
1. Review your credit report and manage history
Knowing how to improve credit score means reviewing your credit report and manage history. Note that you are entitled to one free credit report per year. Usually, a credit report and manage history includes all personal identifying information, a list of credit accounts and credit limit, type of account–whether credit card, mortgage, auto loan, etc.–and the payment history on those accounts.
If you have a question like “how to know my credit,” the answer is in your credit report.
After receiving the report, review it closely. Manage history by going through every statement in the credit report and reviewing each. Discuss any errors that you may find. You are getting the closest way to getting a quick credit fix by doing this.
According to a government study, 26% of consumers have at least one potentially material error. Some errors are simple mistakes like a misspelled name, address, or accounts belonging to someone else with the same name.
On the other hand, other errors are costlier. These are accounts that are incorrectly reported late or considered delinquent, debts listed twice, closed accounts reported as still open and accounts with a wrong balance or credit limit. Informing the credit reporting agency of wrong or outdated information will help you how to improve credit score as soon as the false information is removed.
About 20% of consumers who identified mistakes saw their credit score increase. That is why someone must manage history to know their credit situation and answer their question on “how to know my credit.”
2. Set up payment reminders
It is easy to forget or overlook your payment deadlines, especially when a lot is going on in your life. After all, you also have other bills you need to pay and other personal matters you need to attend to.
However, if you want to know how to improve credit score and boost credit line, you will take your credit payment deadlines more seriously. One way to do this is to set up payment reminders.
Write down your payment deadlines for each bill in a planner or calendar, and set up reminders online. Consistently paying your bills on time can raise your score within a few months.
3. Contact your creditors
If you have a question like “how to know my credit score,” contacting your creditor is another way of knowing this. You may also contact your creditors to set up a payment plan if you miss your payment deadlines and can’t afford your monthly bills.
By quickly doing this, you address your problem head-on, easing the negative effect of late payments and high outstanding balances. Such a process can also help you score and boost credit line.
4. Paying more than once
Another way how to improve credit score is by paying more than once in a billing cycle. To do this, look at your credit report and manage history. Instead of paying once a month, try spending down your bills every two weeks if you can afford it.
By doing this, you are lowering your credit utilization and can boost credit line and your score.
5. Pay attention to credit utilization
The credit utilization rate is the revolving credit amount you are using divided by the amount of revolving credit available. It is another way of answering your question on “how to know my credit.” Credit utilization makes up 30% of your credit score and is often the most overlooked method on how to improve credit score.
For many people, revolving credit only means credit cards, but it also includes personal and home equity lines of credit. A reasonable credit utilization rate never goes up to 30%. Let’s say your credit limit is $5,000.
To have a good credit utilization, you should never use more than $1,500. Doing this can boost credit line and can answer your question on how to improve credit score.
6. See if you are eligible for a 0% interest card
There are a lot of companies that offer cards with 0% interest on balances. However, there are warnings about this. There can be a fee for transferring the balance, and the 0% offer is only suitable for an introductory period, typically between 12 to 18 months. It usually takes an excellent credit score to qualify for one of these.
Check your credit report and manage history to know if you are eligible for these cards. Also, learning how to boost credit line and knowing how to improve credit score can get you one of these 0% interest cards. These cards will then help you ease the bills you need to pay.
7. Quick loan shopping
If you reviewed your credit report and manage history and noticed that you have a bad credit score and can’t find any other way to improve it, you could consider taking a “quick loan.”
A quick loan is typically a loan for small amounts ranging from $250 to $1,000 that get repayment history reported to credit agencies and can become positive on your credit report. However, be mindful that this is the last resort to boost credit line and how to improve credit score.
Loans at BlendPH
Talking about taking quick loans, BlendPH has a variety of loans that borrowers can choose from. For instance, BlendPH offers a personal loan, a non-collateral loan suited for working professionals and other credit-worthy people who need extra cash quickly, at flexible payment terms to fund business, travel, and education.
With only a few requirements and online processing, you can get a loan between PHP 50,000 to PHP 2,000,000. Loan terms are also flexible because you can pay your loan between 12 to 36 months. Aside from these, BlendPH’s loan has three risk types.
Risk Type A has an interest rate of 1.5% per month, Risk Type B has an interest rate of 2% per month, and Risk Type C has an interest rate of 3% per month.
Considering these requirements and terms, getting a personal loan as a last resort to increase and boost credit line is not a bad idea. For your question on “how to know my credit,” you can request a credit report from your credit agency, and they will gladly send it to you.
Knowing how to improve credit score, and getting an answer to your question, “how to know my credit,” are stated in this article. However, it will still depend on how you view your credit report, manage history, and apply it to your spending habits. After all, looking at your manage history will determine if you’re spending too much or too little.
Remember that you need to pay only within your credit limit to boost credit line. And to do this, learn “how to know my credit.” Spending beyond this without having the means to pay for it will only compromise your badly trying to build the score.