Generally speaking, a higher credit score can translate to savings, perks and more favorable interest rates. Here are some steps you can take to get an excellent credit score:

• Always make your payments on time and set up automatic payments if necessary. Payment history is one of, if not the most influential factor in boosting your credit score for FICO and VantageScore.
• Optimize your credit utilization ratio, which is the balances you owe on your credit cards relative to the credit limits of your card. Ideally, you’ll want to keep this below 30%, which applies to each individual card and your total ratio.
• Monitor your credit score and dispute any potential inaccuracies. It’s important to keep an eye on your credit scores and take advantage of monitoring services. If you spot any errors, you can send a written dispute letter to all three credit bureaus and have it investigated.
• Diversify your credit mix and take advantage of low interest loans you can pay off consistently. While a smaller factor in the overall makeup of one’s credit score, the credit mix demonstrates your ability to responsibly manage different types of financing, from credit cards to secured loans like mortgages or personal loans.

While you can build up enough credit history in less than a year to receive a credit score, it can take years of smart credit use and on-time payments to get an excellent credit score. This is because lenders want to see good habits and financial behaviors over time, which is a major component of what FICO and VantageScore take into account.

If you have excellent credit, you likely already have solid credit card habits. Here are a few key tips worth remembering to optimize your experience and maintain your top-notch credit score:

• If someone you trust is trying to build or establish credit, consider adding them as an authorized user on your card. This could give them a path to a higher credit score while channeling extra rewards into your account.
• Review cards on the market periodically to be sure new rewards cards that suit your lifestyle aren’t passing you by.
• By keeping a card that doesn’t serve your needs, like a card with an annual fee that you don’t really use, you’re not taking full advantage of your excellent credit. If it’s an older card that you want to keep to continue to build your credit, you can ask for the annual fee to be waived, or you can ask for the card to be downgraded to a no annual fee card.
• There’s nothing in the credit rule book that says mortgage payments or student loans are more important to your credit than card debt. Everything matters, and you need to be sure to pay everything on time, every time. One missed payment can quickly drop your score.
• Don’t suddenly begin to pay less or charge more. That can indicate to your card issuer that you are having credit issues.