3 Ways to Raise Your Credit Score in 90 Days or Less!

Pay your bills on time, pay down your outstanding balances to 25-30 percent of your
total available credit and don't close any aged accounts. You've heard it before and
you this time, you get it, but you need to raise your credit score now. So what can
you do to rapidly raise your credit score? Pay attention and you will discover three
ways you can increase your FICO score in 90 days or less.

Leverage Another Person's Good Credit History

We all know someone - Mom & Dad, Aunt Winnie or your boyfriend Bob - who has great credit.
They always pay their bills before they're due and they never max out their credit cards.
Wouldn't it be great if you could borrow their excellent credit history? Well, you can and
here's how to do it. If dear old Mom & Dad or your favorite Aunt Esther adds you to their
credit card as an authorized user, you can dramatically increase your credit score by having
their great credit history added to your credit report. But, before you start sweet talking
your relatives, there are a few things you need to know about the authorized user strategy,
which is commonly known as "piggy backing". You need to be sure that the person actually has
good credit and aged credit accounts that are at least 24 months old. Also, you want to make
sure the credit card issuer will report to the authorized user's credit report - otherwise,
its not going to help you increase your credit score. If their credit reports show 3 to 5 paid
accounts that have been reporting for at least 24 months, you get added as an authorized user on
those accounts and the credit card company reports to your credit report, their 24 months of
excellent credit history gets added to yours in about 90 days.

The hardest part about piggy backing is getting someone who is willing to add you their credit
card accounts in the first place. This will be especially true if the person knows you have a
history of paying your bills late or not paying your bills at all. Also, just as riding their
good credit can boost your credit score, if their credit takes a nose dive while you are an
authorized user, your credit score will drop along with theirs. In order to minimize these
risks, have the credit card company send the additional card and PIN to the primary account holder,
and you should only remain an authorized user for a period of 6 to 9 months.

Rapid Re-score To Get A Higher Credit Score

Its estimated that 79 percent of credit reports contain errors. The last thing you want to see when
you're trying to get a mortgage on your first home or your dream house are a bunch of erroneous entries
on your credit reports. You would dispute it yourself, but your closing is in 30 days. What do you do?
Ask your mortgage broker or loan officer about rapid re-scoring. Rapid re-scoring is a way to quickly
remove incorrect credit report entries that either prevent a closing or would result in closing a loan
at a less than attractive interest rate. Using a rapid re-scoring service could re-score and boost your
FICO score in 3 to 5 days. The primary reason rapid re-scoring can work so fast is that corrections are
made from documentation provided by your creditors.

Before you run off to find the nearest rapid re-scoring service, there are a few things you need to know.
Rapid re-scoring is available only through mortgage brokers and their loan officers. The service is not
free, but it could be a worthwhile investment for you, especially if the increase in credit score saves
you thousands of dollars in interest. Also, rapid re-scoring is not widely known about in the mortgage
lending industry, so your mortgage broker or loan officer might not have the training to make it work for
you. Additionally, rapid re-scoring won't help if an account is already being disputed with the credit
reporting agencies or you have negative items on your credit report that are true.

Dispute It Yourself To Make Them Remove It

What if you find out the rapid re-scoring service is outside of your budget? If you can't afford to go the
paid route, do it yourself. Here's what you need to do to launch your own dispute campaign. Order current
copies of your credit reports from Equifax, Experian and Trans Union to launch your campaign. Contrary to
popular myth, pulling copies of your own credit report, a soft pull, won't bring down your credit score.
After receive your credit reports, make 3 copies of each report, make detailed notes of all derogatory entries.
For the purpose of this article, your focus should be on the untrue negative entries.

When writing to the credit bureaus, be sure to group the items to be disputed to no more than 3 per letter.
You can use the model dispute letter templates found on websites like CreditNet or BrokenCredit, but don't
copy them word for word. The letter must read like its coming from an "Average Joe" credit consumer that needs
help getting a reporting error fixed, otherwise it may go in the "frivolous" dispute letter bin. Exercise extreme
care in how you dispute items on your credit report. You wouldn't want a paid account deleted from your report
when all you were really after was having a 30 day late removed, would you? That's why you have put more than
"not mine" or "never late" as your reason for the dispute and you must state what action you want the credit bureau to take if the creditor cannot verify the negative item. Type out your letters on your computer, print them out on plain paper and sign them. Make sure you include the correct spelling of your name, your social security number and your current address. Never include any documentation or make any statements that the credit bureau checkers can use against you. Only include a copy of your credit report with the disputed items circled or highlighted with your dispute letter. Some credit repair experts recommend you send your letters by certified mail return receipt requested to establish a paper trail and others suggest you use priority mail or first class mail
because your friendly credit reporting agency employees might refuse to accept the certified mail piece.

Under the FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act), the credit bureaus have 30 days from the date the dispute was
received to respond. If the creditor who reported the negative item cannot verify the item within the 30 days,
the credit bureau must delete the negative entry.

By following these methods, you can dramatically increase your credit score in 90 days or less. How much of an
increase varies from person to person. Make sure you do your homework and have a solid understanding before
proceeding with these or any other method to quickly raise your credit score. Remember, these are short term
boosts. Over the long run, paying your debts in a timely manner, keeping your total outstanding balances low
and wisely adding new credit lines are the best ways to maximize your credit score.