If you have been told your credit score is too low to obtain optimum mortgage financing or have been turned down for a loan, there are some simple ways to improve your credit score. The first step is to obtain a copy of your credit report and check it for accuracy.

You can also call your credit card companies and request a credit line increase on your credit card based solely on your payment history. You can request they only review your payment history. This can improve your credit score by lowering your balance to limit ratio.

You should still stick with old credit cards since the bureaus can reward you for your loyalty. As much as 15% of your credit score comes from credit history length as well as the average age of your accounts. Lenders want to see consumers to be stable borrowers and not move accounts around when low introductory offers are being advertised.

Pay attention to the cutoff date for your credit card bills. Even if you are making your payment on time and paying off the entire balance, if the balance is not low on the cutoff date your credit score will not be accurate.

To improve your credit score it is important that you remove any inaccuracies on your credit report, make your payments on time and lower your outstanding debt balances.

Establishing an installment loan is another way to improve your credit score. Obtaining a small installment loan from a local bank will augment any revolving debt history you may have. However, try to avoid borrowing from consumer finance companies.

Another important factor used indetermining your credit score is the number of inquiries. Applying for new credit often will reduce your score.

If you have a credit card that has available credit and has had a zero balance for a considerable amount of time, you may want to use it for some small purchases. Having a current, active tradeline with a small balance can help improve your credit score.

Once you pay off a credit card, do not close that credit card if you can avoid it. The longer you have credit accounts open for, the better it is for your credit as it shows a longer, more established and richer credit history. Also, by leaving this account open it shows a better overall credit balance to limit ratio which will also improve your credit score.

There are two types of credit pulls, "soft" hit and "hard" hit. A soft hit is a credit check not initiated by you. An example of a soft hit is a creditcard company checking your credit history to offer you a pre-approved credit card. A hard pull is one that is initiated by you, usually as a result of applying for credit, such as a car loan. Soft hits have no impact on credit scores.

Numerous addresses, along with numerous places of employment listed on your credit report will affect your credit profile, which in turn has an impact on your score. Two is a good number to have of each and older ones can be requested to be removed by the bureaus.

Never max out your credit cards. Ideally, you want your credit cards to carry a balance that is 40% of the maximum credit limit or less. For example, if you have a credit card that has a $1,000 credit limit, then you do not want to carry a balance that is over $400. By following this simple rule, this will help you to improve your credit score and maintain good credit.

Hard pulls may lower your score by 4-7 points. With the new FICO models a borrower is allowed to shop around for 30 days without having multiple credit inquiries. All the mortgage inquiries will count only as 1 inquiry.

Hard pulls may lower your score by 4-7 points. With the new FICO models a borrower is allowed to shop around for 30 days without having multiple credit inquiries. All the mortgage inquiries will count only as 1 inquiry.