I worked at a bank and I will give you pointers that work.
There are many factors that are taken into consideration when it comes to having a favorable credit score:
1. Your credit history (an established credit history of a few year helps)
2. Your variety of credit (example: installment credit (loans, car payment, house payments) and revolving credit (example: credit cards)
3. On-time payments - PAY on TIME
4. Percentage of credit used (You should NEVER USE 30% or higher of your credit card limit. If you do, it will decrease your score. For example, if your limit is $1600, your spending should always be under $480, which is 30% of your limit. If your balance is generally 30% or higher, you will see a dip in your credit score.
To increase your score, here are some tips:
If you are trying to increase your score, revolving credit works best than an installment credit because once the installment credit is paid in full, it hurts your score.
Set up autopay for at least the minimum payment on your credit card so that you do not miss a payment, and pay more toward your installment loan or mortgage. If you can, pay your mortgage on the 1st and on the last day of the month or prior so long as you have two payments within the month to be reported.
Another way to INCREASE your score is to get another credit card. Hopefully, you only have one or two. If you are approved, the higher the limit the more it will affect your score positively. You will see a slight dip in the score for an inquiry, however, if you DO NOT use the card or have a $0 balance when they report to the credit bureau, it will show the high limit with a $0 balance and it will increase your score, sometimes as much as 40 points. Make sure your other card is also below 30%. Trust me, it works!
Try to apply for a new card on the bureau's site that reports you with the highest credit score so that the inquiry will not affect you too much.
Credit Karma will show you the vanguard score from Trans Union and Equifax. The vanguard score is generally lower than the FICO score. Most banks go with the FICO score. Experian will show you the FICO score on their site.
Here are the links to Credit Karma and Experian. Just set-up a profile and view your scores:
Credit Karma: https://www.creditkarma.com
Experian: https://www.experian.com
