Credit Application

• Because acquiring new credit can help your FICO score, it's OK to submit credit applications. The problem lies when you submit a series of applications in a desperate attempt to acquire credit. Sporadic applications are less likely to harm your score, but having several inquiries on your credit report can reduce your total credit score. Credit applications and inquires make up 10 percent of your score.
  
  

Type of Credit

• Having only one type of credit account is not likely to boost your credit score. Scoring models factor in the types of accounts you open. For this reason, too few credit accounts can hurt your score. It's wise to have a mixture or variety of accounts for credit health. You could apply for a credit card in your name and then apply for an auto loan or another installment loan to diversify.
  
  

Credit History

• The length of your credit history, or the age of your oldest account, plays a role in credit scoring. Consumers with short credit histories tend to have lower scores than someone who's had credit or a credit card for 10 or more years. It's imperative to keep older credit card accounts opened, even if you never use the card. Closing or canceling these accounts is likely to shorten your credit history and bring down your score.
  
  

Timely Payment

• One major factor in scoring is payment history. Because this one aspect of credit makes up 35 percent of personal scores, missing payments and late payments can hurt your score. Your creditor or lender may report a bad payment record to the bureaus, and this information can scare off potential lenders or result in paying a higher interest rate on auto loans and mortgages. Stop missed payments and late arrivals to help repair credit damage.
  
  

Debts

• Owing money to credit card companies can decrease your score. Credit scoring takes your account balances into consideration, and keeping balances close to your limit will harm your score. Avoiding this problem will require paying off debts or paying down balances to less than 30 percent of your credit limit. Make higher payments every month until you achieve a lower balance, and then start paying off new charges each month to avoid high debts.