Top 3 Ways You Can Increase Your Credit Rating This Year

Keeping tabs on your credit rating can be an ongoing headache. Just one late payment can skew years of efficiency. But hope could be on the horizon.

Keeping tabs on your credit rating can be an ongoing headache. Just one late payment can skew years of efficiency. But hope could be on the horizon. Credit bureaus are adopting new scoring models that may help boost credit scores and lower interest rates. Here are the three big changes we're watching. California credit bureau Experian has started including rent and utility payments as part of their credit score. If you pay these bills on time you'll have a fuller credit history and receive lower loan rates. By adding the rental data, the number of consumers labelled as sub prime dropped nearly 20 percent and those in the non prime risk segment increased by 92 percent. This is good news for consumer groups like recent college grads. The new scoring method will help bring down crushingly high interest rates for new customers. A new way of classifying consumers called 'Credit Vision' includes additional data. This extra information reveals trends and behavior that can help increase credit scores. If you're paying more than the minimum amount due, making on time payments and reducing your debt over time your credit score will be increased. The new model means that nearly 3 million previously un-scored consumers can now be placed into the prime or super prime risk tiers. That means more loan options and lower interest rates. Great news for many millennials or first time home owners.