You know all the ways you can hurt your credit score, but do you know all the best ways to give your three-digit score a boost? There’s lots of tips and tricks out there, so I looked for the best, reliable strategies to help you out. Read on for my top seven ways you can increase your credit score.

1. Pay Down Your Cards and Spread Out Your Debt - Are you thinking “duh!” right about now? It’s true that you just need to pay down your credit cards and focus on the cards where you are closest to your limit. MSN personal finance columnist Liz Pulliam Weston says that “getting your balances below 30% of the credit limit on each card can really help.” Credit scores look at how much available credit you have vs. how much credit you’re currently using (credit utilization ratio). Points are deducted when you’ve charged over 50% of your limit.
2. Ask For Credit Limit Increases - Make a phone call to the card companies that you’re in good standing with. Ask for an increase. If they agree, you’ll immediately boost the credit utilization ratio and see a jump in your score.
3. Occasionally Use Old Cards - As you know, credit history gets better with age. But you need to continue using your old cards or the companies may stop updating your accounts with the credit bureaus. You want your accounts to stay active. Charge a small item on an old card every now and then and pay it off in full once you get your next statement.
4. Ask For Forgiveness - If you have just one pesky late payment on a card, call or write your lender and ask them if they can erase it from your history. You have a good chance if you make the request in writing and if you’ve had 12 or more on-time payments since the late one.
5. Verify Your Credit Limits - Check to make sure the credit bureaus accurately list the credit limits you have for each account. If you find any errors, call the bureau and ask them to correct it.
6. Do NOT Close Your Cards - You always want to have a high amount of available credit, so closing your cards can hurt you instead of help you. Pack the cards away in a safe place, out of sight, if you need to.
7. Pay Your Bills On Time and Above The Minimum - This is an easy tip, but it’s always good to remember. An easy way to never forget your payments is to set up automatic deductions or have your bank pay your bills for you. You can also set aside a time every week to look at upcoming bills in a spreadsheet that you securely saved online. This way, you can check on your bills from wherever you are.