Www credit reports Memphis

Try to keep your overall utilization ratio -- and the ratios on individual cards or lines of credit -- below 30 percent.

Although it usually it makes sense to pay down credit accounts with higher interest rates www credit reports Memphis first, if you've tapped more than www credit reports Memphis 30 percent of available www credit reports Memphis credit on a particular card, bringing that percentage down first may help boost your score www credit reports Memphis more quickly.

Timing is critical. Even if you pay off your balance each month, showing a high utilization ratio at any time during the month could conceivably hurt your score if the statement balance is elevated when it gets reported to the credit bureaus. what is a credit report This is especially problematic for www credit reports Memphis people whose credit limits were lowered after the recession began. A few suggestions:

Spread purchases among multiple cards to keep individual balances lower -- while still paying off as much as you can each month, of course. Make an extra payment midway through the billing cycle www credit reports Memphis so your reported outstanding balance appears lower. Ask lenders to reinstate higher limits if your payment history has been solid -- but don't tap the extra credit just because it's there.

Be cautious with transfers. Transferring balances to a new credit card account to get a lower rate will ding your credit score by a few points -- although it won't take that long to recover. credit score scale

But, say www credit reports Memphis you move a $2,000 balance from a card with a $10,000 limit to one with a $4,000 limit; you'www credit reports Memphis ve immediately gone from a 20 percent utilization ratio to 50 percent www credit reports Memphis on the new card. Plus, if you then close the higher-rate card, you'll only compound the problem by both lowering your available credit and erasing a longer-term account from your credit history. Mix it up. People who demonstrate managing several types of credit earn higher scores, so if your revolving (credit card) payments are under control and you don't have any outstanding installment loans (mortgage, car, student), consider taking out a small personal loan and paying it off on schedule. view online credit report Just make sure the lender will report it to all three bureaus.

A few other credit score-improvement tips:

Make sure that credit limits on individual cards reported to credit bureaus are accurate.