How to Improve Your Credit Score? and How Long before You Can Apply for Credit Card Again

Lsugardumpling on 16/11/2017 - 22:08
Last edited 16/11/2017 - 22:12

Hi guys, I applied for ANZ credit card in September, I didn't choose the limit and it defaulted to $50k and got rejected. I think this has damaged my credit rating since the limit is too high for me!

Prior to that, I applied for Coles card in March and got approved. In June I applied for St George credit card and I got it approved. I then closed my Coles one and currently only keep one credit card.

I know it is my fault for applying credit cards too often too soon. I didn't do my research properly prior applying.

And now I've been checking and monitoring my credit score for the past 3 months but the score doesn't budge, it stays at 580.

I have no defaults/ no bankruptcy on my report… I always pay my credit card within 30 days, full balance.

Can anyone give me tips in improving my credit score?

Financial

Comments

  • garetz on 16/11/2017 - 23:17
    -7

    "I always pay my credit card within 30 days, full balance."

    There is your problem, a credit score gets higher the more money they make from you, if they make nothing from you cause you pay your balance before interest accrues then your not going to improve your credit rating. A credit rating as most people think isnt a rating that shows you are worthy of more credit, its a rating that shows the banks they can make money from you.

    • shags21 on 16/11/2017 - 23:50

      holy moly i’ve been enlightened

    • [Deactivated] on 17/11/2017 - 00:09

      This. So much this!

    • garetz on 17/11/2017 - 00:52

      I guess people dont like to hear the truth, and am getting downvoted for it.

      • niknah on 17/11/2017 - 08:46

        The banks have people here watching…

    • John Kimble on 17/11/2017 - 07:00

      Pretty sure that's not how it works…more like this: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/comment/5295723/redir

    • chumlee on 17/11/2017 - 07:13

      Did you take your tin foil hat off again?

    • sugardumpling on 17/11/2017 - 08:52

      LOL are you trolling? the first time I heard this

    • HighAndDry on 17/11/2017 - 11:12

      Just adding to the chorus of "Bahaha, this is so ridiculously laughably wrong I've no idea where to start…"

  • [Deactivated] on 16/11/2017 - 23:36
    +1

    how many credit cards do you need/want?

    • sugardumpling on 17/11/2017 - 08:43
      +1

      I just need one but I want to get the one with points!

  • naritas on 17/11/2017 - 00:09
    +6

    If you want a high credit score you need:

    • a stable history of official place of residence
    • infrequent numbers of credit applications
    • stable employment with increasing income reported over time
    • consistently positive (i.e. not overdrawn) & growing primary bank balance
    • no penalties or late fees on any of your accounts that are reporting positive credit data
    • to use as little of your available credit limits as possible

    All of the above factors are then ranked against your age & location.

    Most of these factors take time. As such, if your score is low today it will not be high for at least a year or two (if not more).

    That said, you can improve from low to moderate in a relatively short period by being mindful of the above factors and making consistent (on time) repayments on your financial obligations.

    Hope this helps

    • sugardumpling on 17/11/2017 - 08:44

      Thank you Naritas!

    • Easton on 18/11/2017 - 13:40
      +3

      As far as I know, your bank balance isn't listed on your credit report.

      Also, for the most part, credit utilisation isn't really reported much at the moment, though this may change in the future with the positive credit reporting. I have 8 credit cards, all of which with different financial institutions, and none of them list my credit usage on my credit report.

      • Larz128 on 19/11/2017 - 21:11

        Can we confirm this? On my report I also only have the applications and pretty much nothing else.

  • EightImmortals on 17/11/2017 - 06:58

    "And now I've been checking and monitoring my credit score for the past 3 months "

    How do you do that?

  • sw0rdy on 17/11/2017 - 08:21
    +1

    Which credit score are you looking at and from where? You should really be keeping a close eye on your equifax (veda) score as that's the one used by most lenders - use getcreditscore. As others said above, it takes time to improve but if you have your name on bills (i.e utility etc) and are paying on time due to positive reporting (comprehensive credit reporting) being introduced, you should start to see it slowly rise over time. I think only equifax have introduced positive reporting so far.

    • sugardumpling on 17/11/2017 - 08:44

      Thanks Sw0rdy, yes I use getcreditscore rating…. So really I should wait for 6 months before applying for another credit card? I don't have any bills under my name sadly :(

      • stirlo on 17/11/2017 - 08:54
        +1

        Or just request the lowest limit possible for you next card application. My credit score is far lower than yours but I got approved last month even when my provable income was lower than the requirement.

      • sw0rdy on 17/11/2017 - 09:33
        +1

        Yes, i would give it some time. You definitely don't want to be applying for credit in short time frames. Remember to always select a limit for the card - because if you let them decide, they will send your app with the highest limit possible.

  • John Kimble on 17/11/2017 - 10:53

    Plenty of threads on the same topic: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/search/node/Credit%20score?t=f

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