Having a low credit score can be tough. Low credit could prevent you from getting approved for a loan, mortgage, apartment or credit card. Having bad credit could also cause you to pay higher interest rates on loans or security deposits on utilities.
The bottom line is that having bad credit could set you back financially—which is why it’s important that you know how to repair and rebuild your credit. It may not be a quick and easy task, but fortunately, repairing your credit is possible! Here are seven tips for fixing your credit:
1. Check for any credit report errors.
First, you’ll need to get a hold of your credit score. There are plenty of free tools online that allow you to check your score (and checking won’t hurt your score!). Once you have your score, check for any credit report errors. This might be inaccurate information on your report, incomplete information, or any information that you believe can’t be verified.
Any errors can be disputed online, over the phone, or through mail. Keep in mind that if you have several disputes, spread them out over a period of time. The creditors may become suspicious if you file too many disputes.
2. Address any past due accounts
Your payment history makes up 35% of your credit score—therefore making it the most impactful part of your score. Having too many past due accounts will drastically hurt your score, so be sure to tackle those first. The goal is to have all your past due accounts marked as “paid” or “current”.
And when paying these accounts—be sure to tackle the ones that aren’t yet “charged-off”. A charge-off happens once your payment is 180 days past due and is one of the worst account statuses you could have.
3. Bring down your highest balances first
Once you’ve tackled any past due accounts, it’s time to start paying down your balances. The accounts that should be paid off first are any that have exceeded the credit limit or are about to exceed the credit limit. Ideally you want to be using less than 30% of your credit limit. If you can do this, you’ll greatly boost your score.
4. Don’t close any credit cards
Closing a credit card doesn’t usually have any benefits. That’s because a credit card contributes to your available credit/credit limit. The higher your total line of credit is across all accounts, the easier it is to keep a lower credit usage percentage.
If you want to close a credit card because of a high annual fee, try calling the credit card company and telling them you’re considering leaving because of the fee. There’s a chance that they could wave it for you. You could also look into transferring your line of credit before you close a card.
5. Don’t be discouraged by setbacks
While going through credit repair, there’s a chance that your score could unexpectedly drop. Don’t let this discourage you. This could happen as a result of you paying off a debt and closing the account. As long as you continue to add positive aspects to your credit report—such as paid off accounts, low credit utilization—you’ll be on the right track to repairing your credit.
6. Work with a credit counselor
If your debts are becoming too much to handle and creditors won’t work with you, consider getting a credit counselor. Look for a free counselor with a non-profit to help you get your credit back on track.
7. If bankruptcy is inevitable, file sooner rather than later
If filing bankruptcy is the only option, don’t waste time on other solutions. Decide whether or not bankruptcy is the right choice for you by looking at your finances and chatting with a professional. The sooner you file, the faster you can start the process of rebuilding your finances.
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FIT™ Platinum Mastercard®
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- Return Payment Fee
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First Progress Platinum Prestige Mastercard® Secured Credit Card
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- Annual Fee
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Freedom Gold Card
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Reflex® Platinum Mastercard®
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- Regular APR
- 35.90% Fixed
- Credit Limit
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- Annual Fee
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Surge® Platinum Mastercard®
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- Regular APR
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- See website for Details*
Milestone® Mastercard®
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- Credit Recommended
- Fair/Good
- Credit Limit
- $700
- Cash Advance Fee
- See terms
- Regular APR
- See terms
Bad Credit Cards
- Credit Recommended
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- Intro (Purchases)
- See website for Details*
- Intro (Transfers)
- See website for Details*
- Regular APR
- See website for Details*
- Annual Fee
- See website for Details*
First Progress Platinum Select Mastercard® Secured Credit Card
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- ¹Cardholders who keep their balance low and pay their credit card bill on time every month typically do see an increase in their credit score.
- Credit Recommended
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- Regular APR
- 18.74% (V)
- Annual Fee
- $39
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- Cash Advance APR
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Upgrade Cash Rewards Visa®
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*To qualify for the welcome bonus, you must open and fund a new Rewards Checking Plus account through Upgrade and make 3 qualifying debit card transactions from your Rewards Checking Plus account within 60 days of the date the Rewards Checking Plus account is opened. If you have previously opened a checking account through Upgrade or do not open a Rewards Checking Plus account as part of this application process, you are not eligible for this welcome bonus offer. Your Upgrade Card and Rewards Checking Plus account must be open and in good standing to receive a bonus. To qualify, debit card transactions must have settled and exclude ATM transactions. Please refer to the applicable Upgrade Visa® Debit Card Agreement and Disclosures for more information. Welcome bonus offers cannot be combined, substituted, or applied retroactively. The bonus will be applied to your Rewards Checking Plus account as a one-time payout credit within 60 days after meeting the conditions.
Destiny Mastercard®
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- Reports to all three major credit bureaus
- Less than perfect credit is okay, even with a prior bankruptcy!
- Credit Recommended
- Poor to Good
- Credit Limit
- $700
- Regular APR
- See terms
- Annual Fee
- See terms
Merrick Bank Secured Credit Card
- Choose your own credit line based on how much money you want to put down as a security deposit.
- Initial deposits can be from $200 to $3,000. You can increase your credit line at any time by adding additional money to your security deposit, up to $3,000.
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- Credit Recommended
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Reflex® Platinum Mastercard®
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- Regular APR
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OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card
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- Credit Recommended
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- Regular APR
- 25.14% (variable)
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- Time for a new Credit Card
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- See website for Details*
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- See website for Details*
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- Annual Fee
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Surge® Platinum Mastercard®
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- Less than perfect credit? We understand. The Surge Mastercard is ideal for people looking to rebuild their credit.
- Unsecured credit card requires No Security Deposit
- Perfect card for everyday purchases and unexpected expenses
- Monthly reporting to the three major credit bureaus
- Access to your Vantage 3.0 Score from Experian (when you sign up for e-statements)
- Use your card everywhere Mastercard is accepted at millions of locations
- Enjoy peace of mind with Mastercard Zero Liability Protection for unauthorized purchases (subject to Mastercard guidelines)
- Regular APR
- 35.90% Fixed
- Late Payment Fee
- Up to $41.00
- Return Payment Fee
- Up to $41.00
- Intro Rate
- See website for Details*
FIT™ Platinum Mastercard®
- $400 Initial Credit Limit
- Less than perfect credit? We understand. The FIT Mastercard is ideal for people looking to rebuild their credit.
- Unsecured credit card requires No Security Deposit
- Perfect card for everyday purchases and unexpected expenses
- Monthly reporting to the three major credit bureaus
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- Use your card everywhere Mastercard is accepted at millions of locations
- Enjoy peace of mind with Mastercard Zero Liability Protection for unauthorized purchases (subject to Mastercard guidelines)
- Credit Recommended
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- Regular APR
- 35.90% Fixed
- Annual Fee
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- Return Payment Fee
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Good Credit Cards
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- Intro (Purchases)
- See website for Details*
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- See website for Details*
- Regular APR
- See website for Details*
- Annual Fee
- See website for Details*
*See Card for Terms and Conditions
Applied Bank® Unsecured Classic Visa® Card
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- Credit Recommended
- Poor/Damaged Credit
- Regular APR
- 29.99%
- Late Payment Fee
- Up to $38
- Return Payment Fee
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- Card Brand
- Visa®
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- Credit Recommended
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- Intro (Purchases)
- See website for Details*
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- See website for Details*
- Regular APR
- See website for Details*
- Annual Fee
- See website for Details*
Search, Compare and Apply! Creditsoup.com offers you a better way to get a card offer.
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- Terms vary by partner. Please see individual application for product terms and conditions.
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- Intro (Purchases)
- See website for Details*
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- See website for Details*
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OpenSky Launch Secured Visa® Credit Card
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- Monitor your credit progress with free access to your FICO Credit Score.
- Build your credit history across 3 major credit reporting agencies: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion
- Add to your mobile wallet and make purchases using Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Google Pay
- Easy application, apply in less than 5 minutes right from your mobile device
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- Now you can make smaller partial payments towards funding your security deposit over 60 days
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- 29.49% (variable)
- Annual Fee
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- Credit Line
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