Get a credit line increase (but don’t use it)
In order to lower that all-important credit-utilization ratio, you should ask your credit-card company to increase your credit line. Of course, there are some caveats here. Harzog recommends against asking for an increase if you have a history of late payments. “If your payment history can’t stand up to close scrutiny, you could end up with a lower credit limit,” she warns.
“And maybe even an APR increase if you look risky and your score is inching downward.” If you do get a bump, be sure you can resist the temptation to run up your balance. Otherwise, your credit-utilization ratio – not to mention your debt load – could end up rising, not falling.
