Today, it’s more important than ever to maintain a good credit score. “In the past, lenders were more lenient,” says Mike Lewallen, Financial Center Manager with Fifth Third Bank. “Now, many have tightened their lending guidelines and re-assessed risk levels, making it crucial to have the best credit score possible.”

If your score isn’t as high as you’d like it to be, consider the following tips:

• Regularly monitor your credit. A good rule of thumb is to review your credit report on an annual basis. You can access your credit report for free at www.annualfreecreditreport.com or by contacting one of the three credit bureaus (Experian^®, TransUnion^® and Equifax^®). While reviewing your report, make note of how much you owe on each account and if there are any mistakes.
• Pay on time. Making consistent, on-time payments is one of the easiest ways to help boost your credit score. On the flip side, making late payments or skipping payments will quickly lower your score. To help you pay on time, every time, consider setting up automatic bill pay. For example, at Fifth Third Bank, Online Bill Payment allows you to link bill payments to your checking account and schedule automatic payments.
• Lower your debt to credit ratio. Reducing your debt is another way to improve your credit score. To help pay off your debt faster, contact your credit card companies to see if they will consider lowering your interest rates. If you are unable to lower your interest rates, contact your financial institution to learn about other options. For example, at Fifth Third Bank, you may qualify for a home equity loan or other financial service to help consolidate your debt.
• Keep your accounts open. Avoid closing unused credit accounts because this increases your debt to credit ratio, which in turn may lower your score. If you must close an account, minimize its impact by making sure your other accounts have a low or zero balance.

Tools that help you build credit
Fifth Third Bank offers a Secured MasterCard^®, which allows you to open a line of credit by depositing a minimum of $450 in a Fifth Third savings account. “This is a good option if you have a lower credit score and want to improve it over time,” says Lewallen. Further, Fifth Third Bank offers a Responsible MasterCard^® for anyone who can prove he or she or a cosigner has the ability to pay.

If you need help establishing or improving your credit score, contact a Fifth Third Bank financial professional. “We want to become the trusted advisor for all of our clients by listening to their needs and providing solutions,” says Lewallen.

To learn more about improving your credit score, contact Fifth Third at (866) 475-4201 or visit 53.com.

All loans subject to credit review and approval.