Most consumers are aware that negative items on their credit report can be disputed with the three major credit reporting bureaus. Often, this process can lead to a significant improvement in credit score through deletion of the damaging items that were lowering the score.
However, to achieve excellent credit, it’s not enough to just remove negative entries. Why? Because a lack of positive payment history is also an obstacle to having good credit. You need to demonstrate a record of on-time payments in order to raise your credit score.
In this article I will describe two simple techniques for rapidly ADDING good credit entries to your file.
THE CO-SIGNER TECHNIQUE
All that is necessary to add years of excellent credit history is the love and trust of a friend or family member who has good credit.
Credit card companies are always willing to have their best customers add extra cards for family members. By adding your name to one or more of their accounts, they will actually cause a new credit card to be issued in your name. The “catch” is that they will be the co-signer on the account, meaning that they are responsible if you miss payments.
Of course, you never want to risk the credit rating of a friend or family member, so simply have them use their own address on the application for the extra card. That way, the card will be mailed to them, and even though it has your name on it, the card will remain in their possession. They can even cut it up if they want to.
The simple beauty of this approach is that the new card will show up on your credit report, and normally it will show the opening date of the original card (not just the application date for the extra card), as well as the entire credit history of that card! It’s like getting years of good credit added to your file with the stroke of a pen.
THE PASSBOOK SAVINGS LOAN TECHNIQUE
The “Passbook Savings Loan Technique” is a great way to add positive payment history to your credit file. It will also give you an excellent credit reference to use for most types of financial applications. This technique does require some cash – at least $500 to $1,000. However, this amount will be held in a savings account as loan collateral, and the total out-of-pocket cost to complete this technique should be well under $50.