How should I go about raising my credit rating?

About 8 months ago, I applied for a credit card. I use it religiously about 3-5 times a month (usually about $20/month) so that I can raise my credit rating. I currently have Capital One so the APR is quite high (Mine's at 21.50% right now). I had 2 mishaps where I was unable to pay the $10 minimum payment. I owed over $400 (My credit limit) and now I just payed $100 of it. I'll be done paying it off by the end of this month. My question is: How can I A: repair the damage i've done to my credit and B: go about raising my rating?. I inquired with the 3 leading credit rating companies (Equifax and others) as to my credit rating and they all state that my credit rating was inconclusive. Does this have to do with the fact that I just established my credit 8 months ago or the fact that this year is the first year i'll be filing taxes with the IRS? I'm really clueless when it comes to credit and so are my parents. Any info would be great!

I CAN SEE YOUR NEW TO THE CREDIT GAME! DON'T MISS ANYMORE PAYMENTS! GET A FEW MORE CREDIT ACCOUNTS, BUT DO NOT USE YOUR FULL CREDIT AMOUNT ON ANY OF THEM AND..... DON'T KEEP A ZERO BALANCE!!!! SHOWING YOU CAN OWE WITHOUT BEING UP TO YOU LIMIT ALONG WITH PAYING YOUR BILLS ON TIME WILL HELP BUILD YOU CREDIT. THEN YOUR SCORE WILL GROW! ................... AND DON'T TRY GETTING MORE CARDS AND NOT USING THEM THAT WILL ONLY TIE UP CREDIT. YOU HAVE TO USE CREDIT TO BUILD CREDIT!

Anytime you make a late payment on anything it is recorded on your credit. They best way to raise your credit score is to make sure you don't make late payments on any of your bills. And any outstanding collections you may have need to be payed of. You will not see a change overnight. This will take 6 to 12 months to repair.

don't be late again. pay larger amounts than just the minimum. pay it off as soon as you can. another good trick is save up a bit of money, then go buy something of that amount on the credit card, and use the money you saved to pay off the amount immediately. looks good. it's probably because you have such brand new credit and you don't have anything to go on. oftentimes those companies don't look for credit cards, they look for things like houses, boats, vehicles and other major purchases. credit cards are minor to them unless you racked up 50 grand in debt or something noticable.

You've just established your credit, places that finances update records periodically. To get your credit to go higher faster you'll have to finance more than one line of credit. Just not to much b/c places also check how many times you've had your credit checked in a year. and paying your bills late or getting to far behind is not a good thing to do either.

yes, your credit history is too "young" just keep buying little things and make sure you pay them off! After a little while, ask for a limit increase. Also try getting a cell phone and make sure you pay them every month. you're still young so you don't have much to worry about. you have a few years or so before you start to establish enough credit to buy cars and bigger things.

Pay more than the minimum payment on the card. (even 1$ helps) Use your card for everyday stuff, but pay it when you get home...

When you are older, other bills also work towards building credit (phone, electricity, cable, etc.)

Having one or two open lines of credit (cards, etc.) can also improve your score as long as you don't go over the limit or miss payments.

Also, credit card companies now have help sections on their websites for new credit card holders, something like using credit wisely. Check it out. Don't go crazy!

You probably don't have any credit at all yet, the more balance on the card that you have on it the worse you are, have balance/advailable debt ratios and all. Pay off your credit card and maintain a minimum balance on it. If you only have one card consider appling for 2-3 more, just when you get them cut them up and throw them away, that way you can't use them. And for god's sake don't miss payments and if for some reason you do call up the card company, ussually if you make arangements they won't report you to the bureaus. Your taxes ussually don't have anything to do with it unless you have been dodging them for awhile!

Well the first thing you did wrong was that you were late with your payment you can't do anything about that it will go away with time. Now what you need to do is keep using your credit card but try not to max it out every time you max it out that hurts your credit also if you could have someone that has a credit card that has a high limit but has a small balance have them add you on as a co applicant tell them just to add you on and not give you the card you don't want it but they have to keep it in good standing that is basically what you need to do.

P.S. try not to apply to a lot of credit companies because every time someone pulls your credit that lowers your score wait until you have established your self I'll say about one year from the date you were added on those accounts.

The quickest and best ways to restore your credit score, is by getting points.
1. make sure you always pay on time (get a direct debit set up with your bank). This has the largest impact on your credit score. Alternatively missing payments is not funny and credit cards companies loose their sense of humour and your high score.

2. Don't max your credit card - that is another baddie, credit card companies think you cant cope with your finances

3. Don't make too many simultaneous applications fro credit cards or loans. They think you are desperate.

Paying of a credit card quickly is good for you, reduced costs, but that does not have a very impact on your credit score, in fact it has the lowest point award.

From my own experience in the credit blunder department; Pay what you owe on your Capitol One. Use it, but when paying it off, try to pay MORE than the minimum. Also, don't use it if you really don't have to. Or better yet, if you will continue using it habitually, at least pay more than the minimum calls for. I started off with one of those "fix your credit" credit cards. Yeah, the interest was high but after only starting off with a $250 credit limit and paying more than the minimum ON TIME, I ended with a $1,000 credit limit which was a lot for me since my credit was TERRIBLE!!! Once my creditworthiness fell good with them, I applied for another card with a lower interest rate and they gave me a $2,000 credit limit which again was good for me since I had all kinds of bad stuff on my record. I paid more than the minimum on that card as well. It's all about building your credit. I applied for a Macy's Card and started doing the same with that. My credit started off at $300 which was an insult since I could spend that in one day at Macy's but that card is now a $3,000 limit. It's all about paying on time and MORE than the minimum. Try to keep your balances low. If you have a car in your name and are making monthly payments on time, that will also help. For a free credit report you can go here:
https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/i...
If your credit doesn't come up, it may be because you are just starting to establish your credit. You can also call one of those companies (Experian, Equifax, etc,...) and ask what the problem is. Good credit is the key. It has opened NEW doors for me. You can save so much more $$$ when you have good credit. I really messed my credit up when I was only 18!!!! I'm 30 now and have since rebuilt my credit. Hope this helps you!

First of all pay off that credit cared. Find one with lower interest. one you get a card with lower interest rate charge only what you can afford to pay off in full. keep doing that and eventually when the credit cared company See's you are a reliable and responsible for the payments they will automatically raise your credit rating. Check with credit unions they usually have lower rate visa and master cared rates for their members.
If you have a large balance you are paying off always pay more than the minimum monthly payment. Try not to use the card and pay cash when ever you can. The bankruptcy laws have changed and it's not that easy to go into bankruptcy as it once was.
I think you just haven't had the card long enough to have a credit rating with the credit bureaus yet. stop warring about it. What's the reason you want to raise your credit rating since you haven't even had the card for a year?

NEVER pay a bill late.

I suggest you to concentrate on the $300 debt you still have for now.

By the way. You are supposed to keep your Debt to less than 50% of your Credit at all times.

In your case you need to keep your Credit Card Balance to less than $200 AT ALL TIMES.

If you max your Credit Card your Credit Score will decrease a lot.

Be smart. You are going to need a house when you get married and a car when you graduate.

You need at least 12 months of using credit to get a rating, so try Equifax again in a few months. Until then, make sure you pay ALL your bills on time