Finance

If your credit score is in the 730 range, you fall in the upper echelon of consumers in the U.S. with excellent credit. The average credit score or FICO score is around 690. And, with the economy slowly going downhill, more and more people are finding their credit scores drifting into dangerous territory - 550 or less.



A low credit score does you no good at all. So, if your score is low, you want to do everything you can to bring it up. If you do it right, you can save yourself thousands of dollars and more over your lifetime. And, bringing your credit score up is not all that difficult. You just have to know the factors that determine the score. Here are a few tips to help.



Keep to a minimum the number of credit accounts that you sign up for, even though it can be extremely tempting to take advantage of some of the great offers that come through the mail. Because of these offers, many people find themselves signing up for a new card offering cash back rebates, frequent flier miles, or other incentives.



Up to a specific range, however, every extra card or line of credit that you open up will result in your credit score taking a hit. So, if you have a lot of cards and want to get your credit score up, start to cancel some of the cards that you really don't need.



If you apply for too many pieces of credit in too short of a time frame, your credit score will take a hit. For one reason, this is a pattern used by many con artists. For instance, if you apply for four credit cards over a three month period, your credit activity will probably raise a few red flags. However, multiple inquiries against your credit file in a thirty day period for an auto loan or mortgage will not cause those flags to go up.



In cases like this the credit companies realize that the inquiries all relate to the possibility of opening up only one credit line and therefore, internally, they will treat these collection of inquiries as only one.



Don't go over your limit on your credit cards. This is another red flag that will cause your credit score to be lowered. Try to pay off your debts as quickly as you can and try to avoid rolling over balances from month to month.



New credit accounts in general tend to lower your score a bit. Over time, however, as these accounts become aged, assuming that the accounts have been handled responsibly, your score will improve. All of these tips can go a long way towards helping you to build a positive credit history and getting your credit score into a healthy range.

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About the author

Susanna Berlatsky is webmaster and owner of http://www.cardcreditdebtsettlement.com. On her site you'll find articles about how to get out of hopeless debt and other debt related topics.

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