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If your credit score isn’t as high as you’d like it to be, you can improve it by doing a few things:

  • Making payments on time – set up automatic payments so you don’t miss a due date.
  • Keeping your balances low – try to keep your balance below 30% of your total available credit.
  • Having a mix of credit types – it’s good to have installment loans like mortgages or car loans as well as revolving lines of credit like credit cards.

However, if your credit score is so low that you can’t get a credit card at all, none of these will help you. In that case, try getting a secured card. You will need to put down a deposit to act as collateral and the APR will be likely be high, but if you make small purchases you can easily pay off in full each month,  your credit score will improve and you won’t pay a penny of interest.

The number-one way to improve your credit score is to make all payments on time and keep all your accounts active and in good standing. But if you need help to qualify for a card, don’t worry, there are options available for every customer.  Any credit score can be improved over time.

Read more tips about improving your credit score.