April 16, 2026
Written by Rebecca Safier
Certified Student Loan Counselor
Certified Student Loan Counselor
Rebecca Safier, CCC, is a personal finance writer. Her work has been published in U.S. News & World Report, MarketWatch, NextAdvisor, Yahoo Finance, and other publications, and she has contributed expert commentary to Entrepreneur, Money.com, NBC, and more. When she's not covering all things personal finance, Rebecca teaches blogging strategies on her website, Remote Bliss.
It takes at least six months to generate your first FICO® credit score when you're starting from scratch.
You can see improvements in an existing score in 30 to 45 days with consistent good habits.
Rebuilding damaged credit takes a few months to a couple of years depending on the severity of the damage.
Payment history and credit utilization are two of the biggest factors that affect how quickly your credit score grows.
For a lender to loan you money, they need reassurance that you'll repay the debt. That reassurance comes from your credit score – the higher it is, the more trustworthy you appear as a borrower.
Building your credit score takes time, but there are proven strategies to help you establish or improve it faster. This guide explains how long it takes to create a credit history from scratch, improve an existing score, or rebuild after a financial setback.
It takes at least six months to generate your first credit score. If you're improving an existing score, you may see changes in 30 to 45 days. Rebuilding damaged credit can take a few months to several years depending on your starting point.
A stronger credit score can open the door to better interest rates on loans and credit cards. It can also make it easier to achieve major milestones like renting an apartment or buying a car.
Here's what you need to know about building credit at different starting points.
If you're starting from scratch, it will take at least six months to generate your first FICO credit score. Getting approved for a loan or an unsecured credit card is difficult when you don't have a credit history.
Lenders look at your payment history to determine how dependable a borrower you may be. If you have no credit history, they can't anticipate your ability to use credit responsibly and pay your bills on time.
Fortunately, there are alternative ways to build credit.
When you're just starting your credit-building journey, these strategies can help.
Get a secured credit card: Secured credit cards act just like regular credit cards, but you pay a security deposit upfront. This deposit acts as collateral – a form of security for the lender in case you can't pay – and it also sets your credit limit. These cards often come with more lenient requirements and are more accessible to first-time credit builders. However, they may also have a high annual percentage rate, or APR. To avoid interest charges, pay your bill on time and in full every month.
Get a credit builder loan: If you want to build credit without a credit card, you can use a credit-builder loan to create a history of on-time payments. They're different from traditional loans because you're essentially repaying a loan to build credit. You don't get the loan's proceeds until you repay it in full. Check out your local credit unions and community banks for this type of loan.
Become an authorized user: Ask a trusted friend or family member with good credit to add you as an authorized user on their credit card account. Your credit score could improve if they make on-time payments.
Boost your credit with rent and utility payments: Some property managers and utility companies report your on-time payments to credit agencies. Check with yours to see if you can use a positive payment history to improve your credit. Alternatively, sign up for a service that will report your rent and utility payments to the credit bureaus.
You need at least one active credit account for six months before most scoring models can generate a score. Credit bureaus require enough payment history to assess your creditworthiness.
If you've never had a loan or credit card reported to the bureaus, you may be "credit invisible" – but opening a credit account and using it responsibly will start building your score.
You could start seeing changes in as little as 30 to 45 days when you improve your score through consistent habits. Pay your bills on time, reduce debt, and keep your balances low for the biggest impact. Stay consistent with these actions and your score will grow steadily over time.
Repairing damaged credit can take anywhere from a few months to a couple of years depending on the severity of the damage. Stop the behaviors that hurt your score and focus on paying down high-interest debt and making on-time payments. You'll need several months of responsible credit use before you'll see significant improvements.
Most lenders use your FICO Score, which considers five key factors in its calculation:
Payment history (35%): Reflects your track record of paying bills on time
Credit utilization (30%): How much available credit you're using
Length of credit history (15%): How long you've been building credit
Credit mix (10%): The mix of different types of credit accounts you have
New credit (10%): The number of credit accounts you have recently opened
Your payment history and credit utilization are the most important factors that make up your credit score. Consistently paying bills on time and using credit sparingly can help you improve it.
Credit scoring companies like FICO and VantageScore have scores ranging from 300 to 850. Major credit bureaus and lenders consider a score of 579 or below as poor credit, while they see 800 and above as excellent credit.
Just make sure to keep enough money in your account so the automatic payments go through successfully.
You can speed up your credit-building progress by focusing on these key factors:
Payment history: Paying bills on time is the most important factor for your credit score. The longer you make on-time payments, the faster your score will improve. Set up automatic payment plans to stay on top of due dates.
Credit utilization: Try to keep your credit usage under 30% of your limit. A high credit utilization ratio – the percentage of your available credit that you're using – can hurt your score, but keeping this number low can help your score grow more quickly.
Credit age: The longer your account is in your credit file, the better it is for your score. While you can't speed up the aging process, keeping old accounts open will help your score improve over time. You might consider cutting up an old credit card if you're tempted to overspend, but it's often a good idea to leave the account open. You may need to make small charges now and then so your account doesn't become inactive.
Hard inquiries: Hard inquiries can lower your score. Applying for many new credit accounts in a short time can slow your progress. Space out hard credit inquiries to avoid this issue.
Credit limits: You can improve your score by requesting periodic credit limit increases. This can lower your overall credit utilization, as long as you don't overspend. You may want to space these requests out, as they often result in a hard inquiry – an official credit check that can temporarily lower your score.
Credit report errors: Review your credit report for inaccuracies. If you spot any errors, file an official dispute to try to have them removed.
Stay consistent with these habits, and your score will steadily improve over time.
Building credit depends on your starting point and ability to maintain smart habits. Check your credit score regularly, stay consistent, and celebrate every score increase along the way.
Ready for more guidance? Learn how to build credit fast for beginners.
Your credit score doesn't start at a specific number – you need to establish your credit history first. Once you open your first account and use it, credit bureaus can calculate your score after about six months.
Pay all your bills on time, keep your credit utilization under 30%, maintain older accounts, and avoid applying for multiple new accounts in a short period. Consistency with these habits is the fastest way to grow your score.
You can start building credit in three months, but most scoring models need at least six months to generate your first score. Continued good habits will lead to steady progress over time.
Moving from 500 to 700 can take several months to a few years depending on your situation. You may speed up the process by paying down balances, making on-time payments, and avoiding new debt.
Chime® is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by The Bancorp Bank, N.A. or Stride Bank, N.A., Members FDIC.
Chime is not FDIC-insured. The Bancorp Bank, N.A. and Stride Bank, N.A. are the FDIC-insured members. Deposit insurance covers the failure of an insured bank. Certain conditions must be satisfied for pass-through deposit insurance coverage to apply. FDIC deposit insurance limit is $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, per ownership category.
Chime Checkbook: While Chime doesn’t issue personal checkbooks to write checks, Chime Checkbook gives you the freedom to send checks to anyone, anytime, from anywhere. See your issuing bank’s Deposit Account Agreement for full Chime Checkbook details.
By clicking on some of the links above, you will leave the Chime website and be directed to a third-party website. The privacy practices of those third parties may differ from those of Chime. We recommend you review the privacy statements of those third party websites, as Chime is not responsible for those third parties' privacy or security practices.
Opinions, advice, services, or other information or content expressed or contributed here by customers, users, or others, are those of the respective author(s) or contributor(s) and do not necessarily state or reflect those of The Bancorp Bank, N.A. and Stride Bank, N.A. (“Banks”). Banks are not responsible for the accuracy of any content provided by author(s) or contributor(s).
APPLE and the Apple Logo are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. GOOGLE PLAY and the Google Play Logo are registered trademarks of Google LLC. Third-party trademarks referenced for informational purposes only; no endorsements implied.
This guide is for informational purposes only. Chime does not provide financial, legal, or tax advice. You should check with your legal, financial, or tax advisor for advice specific to your situation.
Third-party trademarks referenced for informational purposes only; no endorsements implied.
With qualifying direct deposits, earn 5% cash back as a Chime Prime member or 2% cash back as a Chime Plus member on up to $1,500 of eligible secured Chime Visa® Credit Card purchases. See the Secured Chime Visa® Credit Card - Cash Rewards Program Addendum for limitations and details on earning cash back on your monthly selected category.
Out of network ATM withdrawal and OTC advance fees may apply. View the Bancorp agreement or Stride agreement for details; see back of card for issuer.
To apply for a Chime Card™, you must also open a Chime Checking Account.
Results will vary. Not all payments are boost-eligible. Some users may not receive an improved score or approval odds. Not all lenders use Experian credit files, and not all lenders use scores impacted by Experian Boost®. Learn more.
We’re partnering with Boom to help report rent payments made with your Chime account. Boom reports your rent payments to the credit bureaus. Late payments may negatively impact your credit scores. Impact on your credit may vary, as credit scores are independently determined by credit bureaus based on a number of factors including the financial decisions you make with other financial services organizations.
Licenses
Chime Capital, LLC, Nationwide Multistate Licensing System ("NMLS") ID 2316451
Chime Payments, Inc., Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (“NMLS”) ID 2538752
Address: 101 California Street, Floor 5, San Francisco, CA 94111, United States.
No customer support available at HQ. Customer support details available on the website.
© 2013-2026 Chime Financial, Inc. All rights reserved.
Chime® is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by The Bancorp Bank, N.A. or Stride Bank, N.A., Members FDIC.