4 Ways to Keep Your Credit Score as High as Possible

September 1, 2020

MonsterMortgage.ca has previously explained what you should watch out for when getting your credit score online and what that number really means. It’s easier than ever to get your credit score online, but there’s a catch. There are many credit score providers out there, that all provide different results and aren’t even used by credit score lenders when you apply for a loan. It can be difficult to optimize your credit score when you aren’t sure of what your personal score really is. The answer to this dilemma is to focus on your overall credit hygiene instead.

To help you out with your credit hygiene, our monsters have gathered some tips to share with you!

Don’t Ignore Your Credit Card – If you don’t give your credit card any attention and don’t use it, then you won’t have anything building your credit score. Without a credit score, you’ll run into some problems when you need to apply for a mortgage. Make sure if you have a credit card, to carry it around in your wallet and use it for some transactions periodically – just don’t forget to pay it off immediately.
Never Push the Limits – Make sure you are always aware of what your credit card limit is and how close you are to it at all times. When you are close to your limit, you may accidentally go over it. Interest charges and over-limit penalties can push you over the edge of your limit. Leaving some cushion space could help you avoid this.
Accept Your Increased Limit Offers – Accepting those offers that you get for an increased credit limit can actually help increase your credit score. You instantly reduce your percentage utilization of credit with an increased limit, resulting in a higher credit score.
Give Some Love to All Your Cards and Lines of Credit – It’s easy to fall in love with one credit card and forget all about your other ones. It might be because you like the travel rewards program on one of them, or you just keep this one in the most convenient spot in your wallet, but this means you’re neglecting your other cards. If you are trying to increase your credit score, you should be using all your credit regularly. Making a transaction every few months will keep the date-of-last- activity updated on your profile. If you don’t use your credit for an extended period of time, the bank might tell you that it is dormant and no longer accessible.

Since you can’t rely on any one of the credit scores you can get online, it’s better to focus on your overall credit hygiene and try to maximize it by having healthy financial practises. MonsterMortgage.ca is always happy to help you out and provide you with tips for your personal credit score situation. Reach to one of our Monsters today to learn more about credit scores and how to beat the numbers!

P.S. Check out our video with CBC Marketplace to help consumers understand why these scores from online sources are useless when trying to get a mortgage.

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