Improving your credit can seem complicated if you haven't had the proper training. However, I have had the pleasure of working in finances for the past few years, so let me offer my advice.
#1) Payment history (how long and how well you have paid on your obligations) and your capacity (how much revolving credit you have) make up 2/3 of your score. Payment history is worth 35% and capacity 30%. Keep those in mind when trying to improve your score.
#2) Time is your friend! Especially if you have any bad credit history. The older your trade line, the better! Try to avoid getting rid of any long time revolving lines of credit or credit cards.
#3) Contrary to popular belief and the first response, you DO NOT have to carry a balance on your card. Not a single buck. It is far better you never carry a balance and I'll explain why in the next point.
#4) Capacity can help and hurt you. You can greatly improve your credit score by increasing your capacity, but if you abuse it, it will come back to bite you. For every percent of your capacity (or the total balance of your revolving unsecured credit) that you utilize, you lose about 1 point. For example, lets say you have a credit card with a $1,000 balance. It is your only revolving line of credit. If you are currently utilizing $900 of it, that's 90% and you are losing out on 90 points!
So, like I said, focus on two things to improve your score: Payment History and Capacity. They make up two thirds of your score and are very important!
