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Yahoo
28-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
I Asked ChatGPT How To Raise My Credit Score Fast: Here's What It Said
Your credit score feels like one of those mysterious numbers that controls your financial life, but you might not know anything about improving it quickly. Can you actually boost your score in weeks instead of years? I decided to ask ChatGPT for the fastest ways to raise a credit score, and the AI delivered some surprisingly actionable advice. Find Out: I Read Next: Here's what ChatGPT told me about raising my credit score fast (and why some of its suggestions are better than others). First, the good news. ChatGPT gave me several strategies that financial experts actually recommend: Pay down credit card balances: The AI called this the 'biggest impact' move, and it's absolutely right. Your credit utilization ratio, aka how much you owe compared to your credit limits, makes up about 30% of your credit score. Ask for credit limit increases: ChatGPT explained this smartly. 'If your limit goes up but your balance stays the same, your utilization drops.' Simple math that works. Fix errors on your credit report: The AI recommended checking all three credit bureaus for mistakes, which can genuinely boost your score overnight if you find and dispute errors. Pay everything on time: ChatGPT warned that 'even one late payment can hurt your score by 90+ points.' That's not an exaggeration because payment history is 35% of your score. So far, the advice was solid and actionable. Learn More: Here's where ChatGPT surprised me with a smart but limited suggestion: becoming an authorized user on someone else's well-managed credit card. The AI explained that if someone with good credit adds you to their account, 'that info may show up on your report and boost your score.' This can work, but ChatGPT should have been clearer about the downsides. You're basically piggybacking on someone else's credit responsibility. If they mess up, it hurts your score too. Plus, not all lenders give full credit to authorized user accounts when you apply for loans later. This strategy can work for a quick boost, but it's not building your own credit foundation. ChatGPT mentioned Experian Boost as a way to get 'instant' credit score improvements by adding utility and phone payments to your credit file. While this is a real tool that's free to use, the AI made it sound more powerful than it actually is. Experian Boost only affects your Experian credit score, meaning it doesn't affect the scores from Equifax or TransUnion. Many lenders don't even use the boosted version of your Experian score. So, while you might see a number go up, it might not help you get approved for that car loan or credit card you actually want. The AI should have been more upfront about these limitations instead of presenting it as a quick win. The biggest issue with ChatGPT's advice was setting realistic expectations. The AI promised results 'within a few weeks to a few months,' but that's only true if you're starting from a decent credit foundation. If your credit score is really damaged — say, below 600 — these strategies will help, but it's going to take longer than a few months to see dramatic improvements. Major negative marks like bankruptcies or foreclosures can stay on your report for years. ChatGPT also didn't mention that some positive changes, like increasing your credit history length, literally cannot be rushed. Time is the only solution there. Here's where ChatGPT gave genuinely useful specific advice: Keep your credit utilization below 30%, ideally under 10%. But the AI also shared a pro tip that many people don't know: 'Make a payment before your statement closes, not just before it's due.' This timing hack can make a real difference. Most credit cards report your balance to credit bureaus when your statement closes, not when your payment is due. So even if you pay your full balance every month, you might still show high utilization if you pay after the statement date. This is the kind of specific, actionable advice that can actually move your score quickly. ChatGPT's credit score advice was mostly solid, practical and based on how credit scoring actually works. The AI correctly identified the fastest-moving factors: utilization, payment history and fixing errors. The biggest takeaways you should remember included paying down those credit card balances, never missing payments and checking your credit reports for mistakes you can dispute. Was it as comprehensive as talking to a credit counselor? Probably not. But for free advice that took two minutes to get, ChatGPT gave me a legitimate roadmap for improving my credit score. More From GOBankingRates 4 Affordable Car Brands You Won't Regret Buying in 2025 This article originally appeared on I Asked ChatGPT How To Raise My Credit Score Fast: Here's What It Said Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Experian & HomeFree-USA Award $40,000 Scholarship to Fisk University Team for Solution to Bridging Credit Education Gap Among Young People
COSTA MESA, Calif., March 05, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A four-student team from Fisk University took the top prize in the #IYKYK Pitch Competition (If You Know, You Know) for their business idea to make financial literacy and credit education a rite of passage for young adults, sponsored by Experian and HomeFree-USA. Nicknamed Team FinLit, Ansana Regmi, Destiny Marshall, Remilekun Ore and Sovit Lekhak earned a $40,000 scholarship for their proposal, "FinLit HQ." It's a personalized gaming experience for teenagers that helps them develop good financial habits and combat money dysmorphia. As they enter their early twenties, users move onto more advanced app-based credit education via gaming missions for real-world financial scenarios, such as buying books at college, renting an apartment, financing a car, and eventually purchasing a home. Because the proposed app would be integrated with Experian SmartMoney, Experian Boost and Experian Go, users would strengthen their real-life credit score as they play in preparation for making informed financial decisions as young adults. "We realize there's a knowledge gap within the younger generation about credit. You don't give someone a car and ask them to drive on the road without any practice. You shouldn't push young people into the financial world without any education. One small mistake can impact you for years and that's why FinLitHQ is for users starting as young as 13," said Ansana Remi, a junior computer science major from Fisk University and captain of Team FinLit. The #IYKYK Pitch Competition, powered by Experian's B.A.L.L. for Life initiative, challenged students to create a solution that makes financial literacy and credit education a rite of passage to young people coming of age, including those who are not part of the credit ecosystem. Credit invisibility – meaning without a credit report or credit score – affects 40% of consumers under 25 years of age. Credit invisibility disproportionately affects people of color: 28% of Black consumers, 26% of Hispanic consumers, compared to 16% of White and Asian consumers. The competition was the culmination of the Experian Credit Academy created for the Center for Financial Advancement® (CFA). Five hundred students from 16 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) came together in live sessions with Experian credit education experts and self-paced modules. Finalists from Bowie State University and Talladega College also presented their ideas live at Experian's North America headquarters and each team received a $10,000 scholarship. "We are thrilled to see students fully embrace the pitch competition challenge. Their deep connection bridging the gap in credit education knowledge, and passion for sharing what they're learning with their communities are inspiring. At Experian, our goal is to make credit education not only informative but also fun, exciting, and culturally relevant. Seeing the enthusiasm and dedication from these students reaffirms our commitment to this mission with HomeFree-USA and the Center for Financial Advancement," said Raudy Perez, Senior Director of External Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Partnerships for Experian North America. "Education is designed for students, yet their voices can sometimes be missing from the process. Experian's #IYKYK Pitch Competition allows students to take what they've learned and apply it to real-life scenarios. Learning by doing is powerful, and in this experience, students deepen their understanding of credit and financial literacy by actively engaging with the material and sharing their knowledge with others," said LuWanna Williams, University Director for the Center of Financial Advancement™. As part of its mission of financial inclusion and empowerment for all, Experian partners with HomeFree-USA to provide continuing education for its housing counselors and resources for their clients. The company created the Home Preservation Grant, which supported homeowners at risk of losing their homes due to COVID-related hardships with credit education and mortgage relief. Inclusion Forward – Experian Empowering Opportunities™ harnesses Experian's data, analytics and technology to help clients provide more affordable credit access to diverse communities. To learn more about Experian's work in diverse communities: visit Click this link to access photos, b-roll and soundbites About HomeFree-USA HomeFree-USA is a nonprofit started by Marcia and Jim Griffin in 1994 with a vision to close the homeownership gap. The organization gives African Americans the guidance they need to achieve and sustain homeownership, and bridges the gap between financial strength and homeownership for people of color across America. As a HUD-intermediary, HomeFree-USA serves the diverse interests of 6.3 million consumers through its nationwide network of over 50 affiliated community-based nonprofits that specialize in guiding people to first-time homeownership, sustainability and increased financial capacity. For more information visit: About Center for Financial Advancement™ The Center for Financial Advancement™ (CFA) is a solution to the industry's call for more diversity. HomeFree-USA partners with, recruits, trains and places students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) into internships and careers in partnering mortgage, real estate, and financial services companies. Participating CFA Scholars are exposed to credit, money management and homeownership in order to become a savvy consumer and future homeowner. About Experian Experian is a global data and technology company, powering opportunities for people and businesses around the world. We help to redefine lending practices, uncover and prevent fraud, simplify healthcare, deliver digital marketing solutions, and gain deeper insights into the automotive market, all using our unique combination of data, analytics and software. We also assist millions of people to realize their financial goals and help them to save time and money. We operate across a range of markets, from financial services to healthcare, automotive, agrifinance, insurance, and many more industry segments. We invest in talented people and new advanced technologies to unlock the power of data and innovate. As a FTSE 100 Index company listed on the London Stock Exchange (EXPN), we have a team of 22,500 people across 32 countries. Our corporate headquarters are in Dublin, Ireland. Learn more at View source version on Contacts Victoria Lim,
