Finally, try to get creditors to report or update your positive accounts. Not all creditors report to all three bureaus, some don't report consistently, and others don't report at all. If you can get a creditor to report an account that's in good standing (they have no legal obligation to do so), you could see an immediate jump in your score.

In Part 2 of this series, we'll divulge a few things that probably shouldn't try in order to give your score a lift.