What moves your score most

Two things outweigh everything else: your payment history (do you pay on time?) and how much of your limit you use. Fix just those two and you're already on track. The rest helps, but start there.

Always pay on time

Payment history is the biggest part of your score. A single payment 30+ days late can drop it a lot and stick around for years. Set up autopay for at least the minimum, and if you ever can't pay, call the lender before the due date — there are often options.

Use little of your limit

This is called credit utilization: how much you owe versus your total limit. Try to keep it under 30%, and ideally under 10%. If your limit is $1,000, aim to owe no more than $100–$300. Paying before the statement closes lowers this number even if you use the card often.

Keep your old cards open

The age of your credit counts. Closing your oldest card shortens your history and raises your utilization (you lose that limit). If an old card has no annual fee, leave it open and use it now and then to keep it active.

Check your report and dispute errors

Pull your free report at annualcreditreport.com and review it: accounts you don't recognize, wrong balances, on-time payments marked late. Errors are more common than you'd think, and disputing them is free. A corrected error can raise your score with no other effort.

Add positive history

If you have thin credit, add accounts that report well: a secured card used carefully, a credit-builder loan, or reporting your rent — the big payment you already make each month. With Fía Crédito you can report your rent to Experian, in Spanish, and without a Social Security number.

How long it takes, and what to avoid

Credit is built over months of consistency, not overnight. Be wary of anyone promising to “raise your score” by an exact amount or charging up front to “repair” it: charging up front for credit repair is illegal, and “credit numbers” (CPNs) are fraud. The steps above are free and are the ones that actually work.