Here it is folks, the full list! Hope you enjoy it!

Don’t apply for a lot of new credit at once – Making lots of credit applications in a short period of time will severely dent your rating. Every time you apply for credit, the potential creditor will make an official ‘inquiry’ to check your credit history, and about your 10% of your Fico score is based on how many inquiries are made on your file. (Note that this doesn’t include inquiries you make yourself.)

Don’t apply for credit you have no chance of getting – Unfortunately, the expression ‘it never hurts to try’ doesn’t hold water when it comes to obtaining credit. Creditors tend to think alike, and when they see one (or more!) of their competitors has turned you down, it makes them think twice about approving your application. The best way to ensure you don’t get rejected is simply to call the issuer and ask them if you meet the eligibility requirements.

Credit begets Credit – While it’s vital that you never miss payments on your existing credit accounts, the fastest way of increasing your credit score is successfully applying for new credit and demonstrating you can use it responsibly. Even if you can only get secured credit cards, it’s well worth the trouble.

Beware of credit repair scams – As well as wasting your money, so called ‘credit repair’ agencies can often end up damaging your credit rating even further, or even get you into some legal trouble! Check out the Federal Trade Commission’s page on Credit Repair scams for more info here.

Spread the love – I’ve already mentioned that your credit utilization is one of the key factors in determining your credit score. A high utilization makes potential creditors nervous and harms your score. By rearranging your debt, you can reduce the percentage of credit you have utilized on any single account, and thus improve your credit score without actually repaying any debt.

For example, let’s assume you have 2 credit cards – a Bluecard and a Redcard, both with credit limits of $1000. You currently owe $900 on your Bluecard and $100 on your Redcard, putting you at 90% and 10% credit utilization respectively. By transferring $400 from your Bluecard to your Redcard, you now owe $500 on both and are utilizing 50% of the credit on each card. Even though your TOTAL credit utilization never changes, you have brought down the utilization on your Bluecard down from a ‘danger level’ of 90%, making you seem like less of a risk to potential lenders.

Pay your bills on time – This is the single most important factor in determining your credit rating. Roughly 35% of your Fico score will be determined by your payment history, so any late payments, collections, charge-offs, bankruptcies or liens will bruise your rating pretty significantly. The good news is that the further back in time you go, the less of an impact on your score.

Pay down your debts – It sounds obvious because it is. If you were lending money to someone, the first thing you would look at is how much debt they’re currently carrying. 30% of your Fico score is determined by your utilization. Divide your total balance by your total credit limit and you’ll have your utilization.

Don’t close old accounts – Assuming that keeping an account open isn’t costing you anything (beyond a modest annual fee), leave it be. Why? Closing down an account lowers your total credit limit, and makes it seem like your total credit utilization is higher. Pulling the plug on your more elderly accounts can also shorten your reported credit history, making you seem like more of a risk to potential lenders.

Get rid of questionable accounts – Having said that, some accounts are better off dead. Many retail or gas cards can make you seem like more of a credit risk, particularly if they’re from no-name, relatively obscure companies. As a general rule, if you’re too embarrassed to admit you have it, scrap it.

Get copies of your credit report – By law, you’re entitled to one free credit report every 12 months from each of the big 3 agencies – Experian, Transunion and Equifax – from AnnualCreditReport.com. You might even want to consider paying for a service that allows you to check your score on a more regular basis. Personally, I recommend one of the myFico plans – make sure you check out this thread for the latest discount codes!

Dispute any and all items you think are inaccurate – Mistakes happen, so it really is worth going over your credit reports with a fine toothed comb. You’re looking for errors that could be negatively impacting your score, like accounts that aren’t yours, late payments that were actually paid on time, debts that shouldn’t be showing up anymore (negative entries should be deleted after 7 years, though bankruptcies can stick around for up to a decade) and debts that you’ve paid off but are still showing as outstanding.

The quickest method for filing a dispute is online – here are links to the Big 3’s dispute forms:

• Experian
• Transunion
• Equifax

Note that it does NOT impact your credit score when you make a dispute.

Find out why your application was declined – Did you know that you are legally entitled to a free report if you have received an adverse action notice based on information in your credit report in the last 60 days? Adverse action is defined as one of the following:
• Denial of credit, or other unfavorable action affecting a credit application or account.
• Denial of insurance, or other unfavorable action on an insurance application or policy.
• Denial of employment, or other unfavorable action affecting current employment or an employment application.
• Denial of, or other unfavorable action affecting, a government license or benefit.
• Denial of, or other unfavorable action on, another transaction or account, such as an application for an apartment or utility service.
Here are the links for free online access at the big 3 credit reporting agencies (note that they are different from the links above)

• Experian
• Transunion
• Equifax

Ask for your credit limit to be increased – Remember how your credit utilization is an important factor in determining your score? Whenever you get a credit limit increase, your total utilization goes down. For example, if you owe $500 on a card and your credit limit is $1000, your utilization is 50%. A credit limit increase to $1500 will reduce your utilization by nearly 20%. Generally speaking, you should ask for a credit limit increase once every 6 months.
Don’t be afraid to apply for some secured credit cards – For those with really bad credit, a secured card is your best bet for getting things back on track. Ultimately, your ability to get credit is based on you demonstrating that you can reliably meet your financial obligations. Don’t wait until you can get an unsecured card to start showing the agencies you’re a responsible borrower.

Make sure the credit reporting agency has your latest personal details – Lenders like to see evidence of dependability. When you get your latest credit report, check to see if the following information is listed:
• Your current employment
• Your previous employment
• Your current residence
• Your telephone number (especially if it’s unlisted)
• Your date of birth
• Your checking account number

Hope these tips help. Remember to stay positive and never forget that it’s never too late to start rebuilding your credit!

Related posts:

1. 15 ways to improve your Credit score (Part 2)
2. 15 ways to improve your Credit score (Part 1)
3. How To Cancel a Credit Card Without Hurting Your Credit Score
4. Credit Score Strategy: Paying in Full vs. Credit Limit Increases
5. Your FICA Score: What you need to know