Your CIBIL score is one of the most important numbers in your life, as far as financial life is concerned. Whether you’re applying for. a personal loan, credit card, home loan or even instant loan from an NBFC, lenders will check your credit score to decide:

• Will they approve your loan?
• How much amount you will get in the loan?
• At what interest rate will you be charged?
• How much are you financially trustworthy?

A high CIBIL score above 750 means quick approvals, low interest rates and more financial freedom. A low CIBIL score below 650 means rejections, higher interest rates or extreme difficulty in getting a loan.

The good news?

Your CIBIL score is fixable and with the right strategy you can improve your CIBIL score in less time than you expect – even 60-90 days.

This intensive guide takes you through 10 time-tested, practical, and fast-working ways for quickly increasing your credit score, safely and effectively.

1. Check your CIBIL report and find the Errors

Many people don’t know this, but almost 20-30% of credit reports have errors in them. These mistakes can make your score go down even when you have been responsible in your finances.

Common mistakes include:

• Incorrect personal details
• Wrong loan information
• Outdated closed loan status
• Loans that don’t belong to you
• Incorrect overdue amount
• Duplicate accounts

These errors, if not corrected, can lead to the damage your creditworthiness.

What to Do

• Download your CIBIL report
• Check each loan and credit card entry
• Look for mismatched dates, incorrect statuses or such suspicious accounts
• Raise a dispute on the CIBIL portal

Fixing up errors can alone increase your score by 50-100 points in 30-45 days

2. Pay All the EMIs and Credit Card Bills on Time

This is the most important factor affecting your CIBIL score. Almost 35% of your credit score is determined by your payment history. That is if you miss even one EMI or credit card bill:

• Your score drops
• Late payment fees get added
• Your borrowing-associated expense rises

Lenders immediately put you in the “high-risk” category.

What to Do

• Set auto-debit for all EMIs
• Put reminders for bill due dates
• Keep your account of savings up
• Monitor EMI payments with the help of apps

Making consistent on-time payments for even 3 months can make a significant difference in your score.

3. Reduce Credit Card Utilization Percentages Below 30%

Your credit utilization ratio (CUR) indicates the ratio of the available credit you are using out of your overall credit availability.

Example:

• Credit limit is 1,00,000
• Monthly usage is 80,000
• Utilization is 80% that is too high

High utilisation indicates that you are credit-hungry and financially stressed.

Ideal Utilization

Put your spending at lower than 30% of your total limit.

Ways to Lower Utilization

• Increase your credit limit
• Utilize 2-3 credit cards as opposed to one
• Make several bill payments during the month
• Avoid maxing out your cards

If you decrease your utilization ratio, then your CIBIL score can increase by 40-60 points in one go.

 4. Do Not Apply for Too Many Loans/Cards at Once

Every time you apply for a loan or a credit card lenders do a hard inquiry on your CIBIL report.

Multiple applications = multiple inquiries = decline in score.

Banks view this as “credit desperation.”

Avoid This Mistake

• Never apply to more than 2 lenders at a time
• Check Eligibility to view offers without hurting your score- CreditMitra
• Wait a minimum of 3 months between applications

Less hard inquiries = more trust = more CIBIL score.

5. Clear Outstanding Dues/ Overdue Amounts

If you have:

• Pending EMIs
• Unpaid credit card bills
• Overdue loan balances
• Settled accounts
• Written-off accounts

It will not be possible to improve your score until these are cleared.

Quick Ways to Fix This

• Pay overdue amounts first
• Convert big dues into EMIs
• Bargain with creditors on the repayment schedule.
• Don’t settle loans — settlement will decrease your score drastically

After dues are cleared, your score is increased gradually every month.

6. Diversify Your Credit Blend (Do Not Rely on credit cards alone)

Between these ones, your credit profile should contain a healthy blend of:

• The secured loans (home loan, auto loan)
• Unsecured loans / personal loans/credit cards

If you are using credit cards only, your profile looks weak. If all that you own are personal loans, your profile is unsecured-heavy.

What to Do

• Have secure loan(s) of at least one.
• Use small-ticket consumer durable loans
• Not taking excessive amounts of personal loans
• Have two or three or more types of credit

Having a balanced mix of credit can provide your CIBIL score with an organic and steady increase to your score.

7. Increase Your Credit Limit (But Spend Less).

This may seem weird, but increasing your credit limit may actually improve your score as long as you don’t increase your spending.

The higher the credit limit & the lower the utilisation ratio will result in the higher CIBIL score.

Example:

• Credit limit is 50,000
• Monthly spend is 20,000
• Utilization is 40% which is slightly high

If your limit increases to 1,00,000:

• Utilization = 20% (excellent)

How to Increase Your Limit

• Request an improvement in your current card’s limit
• Income proof to add for reconsideration
• Wait 6 months and reapply in case rejected

This has a direct positive effect on your credit score.

8. Keep Old Credit Cards Active

The duration of the credit activity is significant in the CIBIL score. The longer your credit history, the higher your score. Many people make the mistake of closing old cards, and this shortens their credit age.

What to Do

• You should not close your oldest credit card.

• Keep it in motion by doing a little transaction in a month.
• Make full payments before the due date.

A long and clean history makes you a lot more creditworthy.

9. Avoid Loan Settlements (It Destroys Your Score)

In case you settle a loan for an amount lower than the stated amount, the lender updates your CIBIL report as “Settled” or “Written Off.” To all lenders, this is a red flag. It shows:

• You failed to repay
• You negotiated or defaulted
• You are risky

A settlement can cost you between 75 and 150 points of credit score, and it will remain on your report for 7 years.

What to Do Instead

• Request restructuring
• Convert dues into EMIs
• Seek a moratorium
• Pay small amounts monthly
• Take a small top-up loan to close the overdue

It is to make the loan closure final as “Paid in Full”, not “Settled.”.

10. Use a Credit-Building Product

If your score is very low (below 600), then you may require a credit-building product.

These include:

• Collateralized credit card (collateralized against FC).
• Low-limit credit cards
• Small-ticket loans
• Credit-builder loans

These instruments help in creating the repayment history which will improve your CIBIL score over a period of time. Such applications will assist you in:

• Track your score
• Get specific betterment suggestions.
• Find secured card options
• Apply for low limit credit cards
• Build credit from scratch

Expert Hack: Monitor Your CIBIL Score Monthly.

Improving your CIBIL score is not a magic trick that could get you the result in a day. It’s a process that it gets faster when you can keep track of your progress.

Use apps like CreditMitra to:

• Monitor score changes
• Receive notifications when you make a low score.
• Individualized suggestions are provided.
• Monitor the usage of the credit card.
• Avoid missed EMIs
• And become more financially disciplined.

How long does it take to get a better CIBIL Score?

Here is a realistic timeline:

• 30 days: Small improvements (10 -30 points)
• 60 days: Moving moderate (30 75 points)
• 90 days: Significant improvements (75 – 150 points)
• 6 months: Major Recovery Euro 150-200 points
• 12 months: Excellent improvement of low scorers

With a regular habit, a low score can absolutely be rebuilt.

Final Thoughts

It is not very hard to improve your CIBIL score, and it takes some regularity and wise practices. When you use these 10 tried and tested strategies, you will realize the results quickly:

• Flaws in your CIBIL report.

• Pay EMIs and bills on time
• Reduce credit utilisation to below 30%
• Avoid Having Multiple Loan Applications
• Clear overdue amounts
• Maintain a good credit mix
• Increase credit limits
• Keep old credit cards active
• Avoid loan settlements
• Family living products credit.

Your credit score is powerful enough to influence your financial fortune.

 And with CreditMitra, it will be easier, faster, and more convenient to build a good CIBIL score.