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How to Rebuild Your Credit

8 min read

Last Updated: February 25, 2026

Table of contents

Key Takeaways

The length of time it takes to rebuild credit depends on several factors, including your credit habits and financial situation.
Usually, the first step to rebuilding credit is to request your credit report and assess your credit history.
Making on-time payments is one of the most important factors in rebuilding credit.

Whether you want to get a home, student loan, credit card, or even a new apartment, having solid credit is important. If you miss a few credit card payments or carry a high balance, your credit score may suffer. Fortunately, bad credit doesn’t have to last forever. By taking a few proactive measures, you may build positive credit history and develop good credit habits that help you thrive.

How to rebuild credit

If your credit isn’t where you’d like it to be, don’t panic—you can get back on track by working toward excellent credit habits.

A few thoughtful choices, like paying bills on time, reducing your debts, and diversifying your credit accounts can help you rebuild your credit. By doing so, you may qualify for a wider range of credit card options.

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While your unique financial situation may influence the most important steps to rebuilding your credit, the following basics can help.

Assess your credit history

To start rebuilding your credit, you have to understand your credit history. You can start by requesting a free credit report online every week from each of the three major credit bureaus at AnnualCreditReport.com, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Compare the reports for discrepancies or errors, like a missing payment. You might quickly improve your credit score by reporting errors to the credit bureaus.

If you’ve been a victim of identity theft or fraud, you may find that fraudulent charges are the problem with your credit history. Resolving fraudulent charges with both your credit card issuer and the credit bureau that is showing the erroneous charge can help them get removed from your credit report.

Even if there aren’t errors on your credit report, checking your reports often could also help you identify habits that might be hurting your credit, like paying your bills late.

Make every payment on time

Payment history has a big influence on your credit score, so do your very best to avoid missing payments on any existing or new debt. If you have a hard time remembering to pay your bill by the due date, you may utilize your credit card company’s online reminders or set reminders of your own. You may also consider setting up automatic payments if you have a set amount budgeted for debt repayment each month.

It’s important to make at least the minimum payment on your debts each month. If you’re worried you won’t be able to afford it, you can contact your financial institution and talk with them about other options. Paying off a debt doesn’t remove your payment history from your credit record. But you can rebuild a positive credit history by making on-time payments moving forward.

Understand your credit utilization ratio

Once you’ve identified all your open lines of credit and each credit card balance, you can work on reducing your credit utilization ratio. Your credit utilization ratio (or “credit utilization rate”) refers to the sum of your total outstanding balances compared to your overall available credit. So, if your credit card limits add up to $2,000 and your balances add up to $500, your credit utilization rate is 25%.

A high credit utilization ratio can damage your credit score and indicate to lenders that you may have trouble managing debts. If you have high credit utilization, you’ll have to pay down your debts to rebuild your credit. By reducing your credit card debt, you can also reduce your interest charges.

One strategy for reducing credit card debt is paying down your card with the highest balance first and paying the minimum on your other cards. Once you repay your debt, try to keep your credit card open to maintain your available credit.

Establish a diverse credit mix

After you’ve established responsible spending habits, paid down your balances, and given your credit score a boost, consider diversifying your credit accounts. Demonstrating your ability to manage different types of debt can help you rebuild your credit.

If you mostly have revolving credit accounts, like credit cards, charge cards, or lines of credit, you can improve your credit mix by applying for installment loans. Installment loans include a personal loan, car loan, or student loan. Some lenders also offer a credit builder loan. Your lender may offer a credit builder loan designed specifically as a credit repair tool. Typically, a credit builder loan is placed in a savings account, according to the Federal Reserve. The borrower receives the funds at the end of the loan’s term, after making equivalent payments, according to the Federal Reserve.

If you’ve mostly had installment loans, then applying for a credit card or line of credit may improve your credit mix. That said, avoid applying for multiple loans or credit cards in a short time frame. Each time you apply for a credit account, the lender conducts a hard credit check, which appears on your credit report. Too many hard credit inquiries in a short time frame could hurt your score.

Don’t close old accounts

After you repay your credit card debt, you may want to close your account. But leaving your accounts in good standing open whenever possible can do more to help you rebuild your score.

Closing your credit card accounts reduces your available credit, increasing your credit utilization ratio if you have any other balances. Plus, the overall age of your accounts plays a small role in determining your credit score. Maintaining some older accounts can help you rebuild your credit.

Rebuild credit as an authorized user

If you currently have trouble qualifying for a credit card of your own, you may be able to build credit history as an authorized user on a trusted friend or family member’s credit card account. Authorized users don’t typically have to undergo a hard credit check.

The primary cardmember is responsible for paying the bills and managing the credit card account. But both cardmembers’ activity often appears on both credit reports. So, the primary cardholder’s positive credit habits may benefit your credit score, even if you aren’t actively using the account.

Get a secured credit card

If you aren’t eligible for an unsecured credit card, a secured card may also be a good fit. A secured credit card works like an unsecured credit card; you can use it to shop and pay down your balance each month.

But a secured card requires a refundable deposit at account opening. Your credit limit typically equals that deposit amount. If you don’t repay your balance, the credit card issuer may keep your deposit and close your account.

Because the deposit gives card issuers extra security, secured credit cards are generally easier to qualify for than other credit card options.

Did you know?

You can find out if you’re pre-approved for a traditional Discover card. Checking your pre-approval status won’t harm your credit score.¹

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How long does it take to rebuild credit?

There's no set period of time that it takes to rebuild your credit, as various factors contribute to your credit history.

No matter your circumstances, consistency is key. If you pay your bills on time every month and keep your balances to a minimum, you’ll gradually rebuild your score.

What’s the 15/3 rule for rebuilding credit?

Some people say that a strategy called the “15/3 rule” can help you improve your credit score in a hurry. The 15/3 rule suggests that you make two credit card payments a month: one 15 days before the due date and one three days before the due date. The theory is that you can improve your credit score quickly by doubling your on-time monthly payments and decreasing your credit utilization ratio.

But credit card issuers typically report your activity to a credit scoring agency on a monthly basis--so making two payments on the 15/3 principle may not have a bigger impact on your payment history than a combined, single on-time payment would. The real benefit of a 15/3 strategy is that it can help you save on interest and align your payments with your income stream.

Remember, every day you carry a balance on your credit card accumulates interest. So if you pay your balance down earlier in your billing cycle, you can save some money on interest (even if you don't pay the balance off in full). But what if you get paid twice a month, and you want to pay more toward your credit card bill than your first paycheck can support?

In that case, making two credit card payments a month can be beneficial. Proponents of the rule say that this approach improves your credit score quickly by doubling your on-time monthly payments and decreasing your credit utilization ratio. But does it work?

Not really. The 15/3 rule doesn’t actually improve your payment history because credit card issuers typically report your activity to a credit scoring agency on a monthly basis. While paying down your credit card balances can improve your credit score, making an additional payment a month won’t change your payment history. Consistent responsible credit habits, on the other hand, can help you rebuild your credit score.

The bottom line

It takes time and dedication to build credit history or improve bad credit. Whatever your situation, the best time to start working on building good credit is now. By focusing on establishing a reliable history of on-time payments or by using new credit cards to increase your credit mix, you can take the steps to rebuild your credit, earn a good credit score, and make your financial goals a reality.

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