Thread: How a 20 Year Old Can Improve His Credit Score

hey all, this is my first post, really like this forum! now i am seeking for some advice about how i can improve my credit score...

i am a 20 year old college student, my credit scores are as follows...
experian 740
equifax 765
transunion 747

i have 4 different accounts posted on my credit report starting with the oldest
- chase, united mileage plus (2007) authorized user, visa
- boa, bank americard (10, 2009) 700 limit, visa
- barclaycardus, miles and more (2,2010) 2000 limit, mastercard
- amex zync (9,2011)

2 hard inquires... one from the recent amex, the other one from barclay (this one will fall off in february)

all my accounts are in good standing and i pay everything in full every time... so i could care less about apr financing. i only have two problems on my report. the first one should be obvious, all my accounts are fairly new. the second one is that my overall credit limit is not really high. i have been neglecting my boa card and been using the barclaycard up until i applied for the amex. i am very hesitant about pressing the credit limit increase button on the boa site as i read lots of unpleasant stories.

i starting to use this card again for small purchases like coffee a few times a month to get some activity going and hopefully get an increase from boa w/o asking for one. i really am not in the need of another card, but getting one more is tempting in order to boost my credit limit. i was thinking maybe chase freedom? what about about the blue cash everyday from amex, i think i should qualify for both. any other ideas?

my plan is to stick with the zync as my main card until i graduate and start working.

thoughts are much appreciated!

To be honest there is not much more you can do directly to improve your scores. Time is the biggest factor from your post. Your scores are fantastic, even by Boston standards (which historically has high average credit scores).

What is your target score? Also if I may ask, why do you think you need higher scores?

thanks!

well i think more is always better

my goal is to get into the 800s in a few years. i know i have to let them age a bit, but that 700 boa limit and the whole credit line in general i would like to improve upon. it took barclay a year to from 1k to 2k limit (not that im complaining), i feel like boa fell asleep xD

Make sure to carry no Balances, Hold onto your cards for a while. Getting another inquiry should really hurt, but it might be to your benefit to open another card, to increase your total credit available, as this should increase your score. Perhaps try with Discover or a primary with Chase. But most importantly don't close any accounts and just let time pass.

Your scores are already fairly good. The only thing you can do to improve them is to be patient and use your credit responsibly for a few years.

boa fell asleep for me as well, I'm a college student, have a boa card since 02/2010 with $700 limit.
Last month, I finally pressed the Credit Limit button on the boa site. On the online form, when asked, I entered I wanted an increase up to $2000. A day later I get a call from boa dude, he asked a bunch of questions, my graduation date, my employment history, and agreed to increase the limit to $1000 from 700... So, 300$ increase after having the cc for one and half years.

hey... a $300 increase seems VERY little... i am sure if you applied for a new account you could do so much better. i actually applied for a hilton amex the other day and was approved... what they gave me as a limit makes boa look silly. i will use my boa from time to time now, and maybe i will get an automatic increase... if not i dont care anymore... maybe i will switch banks in a few months