Can You Raise Your Credit Score 100 Points Overnight?

Building an excellent credit score takes years. However, raising your credit score 10, 20, or even 100 points can be done faster than you may think.

Freedom Debt Relief isn't a Credit Repair Organization and doesn't provide or offer services or advice to repair, modify, or improve your credit.

3 Ways To Raise Your Credit Score 100 Points 

How much these strategies will increase your credit score depends a lot on your specific credit history. If your credit score was hurt by an error, maxed-out card, or lack of history, one of these solutions could easily increase your credit score 100 points very quickly.

1. Pay off your credit cards

Folks with high credit card balances could see significant credit score improvement simply by paying down those balances. This is especially true if you have credit cards that are mostly or all the way maxed out.

Credit scores are heavily influenced by your credit utilization. That’s how much credit you're using compared to how much credit you have available. Utilization is calculated for each credit card and overall. 

For example, here's what the utilization rate would be for a card with a $5,000 credit limit at various balances:

The lower you keep your utilization, the more of a positive impact it could have on your credit score. People with top credit scores tend to keep their utilization below 10%, but any amount of debt reduction puts you on the path to better credit. 

Paying down your credit card balances lowers your utilization rate and could increase your credit score as the new balance is reported. Most issuers report your card balance once per statement cycle.

The steps to get rid of credit card debt are generally:

• Find more money, either by cutting expenses or increasing what you earn

• Make all of your minimum payments 

• Choose one debt and put every extra dollar toward it

• Once the first debt is paid off, do the same with the next debt

2. Dispute a major credit report error

A defaulted account can do a lot of damage to your credit scores—especially when it isn't your account. That's why it's important to regularly check your credit reports to make sure everything is correct.

You could wind up with erroneous accounts a few ways:

• A credit bureau error: Even credit bureaus can make mistakes, and that mistake could be hurting your credit score.

• A creditor error: A transposed number or misspelled name could mean the wrong data is appearing on your credit report.

• Identity theft: Someone may have stolen your information and opened accounts in your name.

In any of these cases, you can dispute the error with the credit bureau and have the account updated or removed. If the error shows up on your credit reports from different agencies (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion), you'll need to dispute it with each credit bureau individually. You can file your dispute online in just a few minutes.

If the negative account was weighing down your score, your score should increase as soon as the account is removed. The actual time it takes can vary, as the credit bureaus have up to 30 days to investigate your dispute.

3. Become an authorized user

Many credit card issuers will report the card balance and history to the credit report of both the primary user and any authorized users. As long as the account has a good payment history—meaning no missed or late payments and a low balance—then that report will be positive.

The opposite is also true; if the account owner misses payments, that could hurt you, too.

If your biggest credit problem is that you don't have much credit history, being added as an authorized user on an old credit account with a long payment history could provide a very solid boost to your credit score.

If someone does you the favor of adding you to their account, do them a favor by treating it with respect. Authorized users aren’t legally responsible to pay the bill. But if you agree to pay for your transactions, do so. 

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Other ways to raise your credit score

The strategies above work well for some people, but they're not always an option. Here are a few other ways you can raise your credit score.

Use a credit card to build payment history

Credit cards can be a great way to build a positive payment history over time as long as you pay on time every month and keep your balance low.

A good method is to place a regular monthly expense, such as a subscription service, on your credit card. Then, set up autopay so it's paid in full before the due date every month. You might notice credit score improvement after about six months of on-time payments.

Secured credit cards can be a good option for people with bad or no credit. You'll need to make a small deposit, which will typically set your credit limit. If you use the card, you still have to pay the bill. They don’t deduct your transactions from your deposit.

After a period of responsible use, usually 6-12 months, you can apply for a traditional credit card and ask for your deposit back. Some credit card issuers will transition you to a traditional account automatically. 

Pay off a credit-builder loan

A credit-builder loan isn't like a regular personal loan. You don't actually borrow any money. Instead, it's specifically designed to help you build credit. Here's how they work:

• You agree to loan terms for the amount, number of payments, and fees.

• Then, you'll make your payments by the due date every month.

• Once you've made all the payments, you get the money back, minus any fees. Sometimes your money will be released to you incrementally as you make payments.

The payments are reported as credit payments to the credit bureaus, which can boost your on-time payment history and increase your credit score over time.

Once the loan is completed, consider making the same monthly payments to your own savings account instead. This is a great way to build up an emergency fund or other savings.

Add bill payment data to your credit history

If your credit file is thin, meaning you don't have a lot of credit history, you might be able to boost your credit score by having bill payment data added to your credit history. For example, the Experian Boost program adds on-time utility and rent payments to your Experian credit report. 

The added on-time payments could help improve your payment history. This could improve your credit score.

How much it improves your score depends a lot on your existing credit history. If you don't have a lot of history, you could go from unscorable to having a credit score. If you already have an extensive credit history, you may not notice much improvement. According to Experian, the average Experian Boost user saw a 13-point increase. 

Keep in mind Experian Boost only works for your Experian credit report and scores. Credit scores generated from other credit reports, such as those created by Equifax or TransUnion, won't be impacted.

Credit building is a long game

The key to building good credit is using credit responsibly over time. While there are some things you can do for a quick boost to your score, excellent credit is something you build over many years.