Debt & Credit Help Credit Score & Repair

Help Build Your Credit Faster With These 7 Apps

Discover the ultimate credit score hacks to reach your financial goals faster.

happy couple paying bills online
Updated Sept. 24, 2024
Fact checked

We receive compensation from the products and services mentioned in this story, but the opinions are the author's own. Compensation may impact where offers appear. We have not included all available products or offers. Learn more about how we make money and our editorial policies.

 There are so many reasons to try and build a strong credit score as it can help lower your financial stress in several ways. 

Your score is used by lenders to decide if you’re a good person to lend money to, or potential landlords may use it as part of the vetting process to decide if they want to rent to you or not.

But what if you need a boost in your credit score? Check out some of these apps that could help you build your credit history.

If you’re over 50, take advantage of massive discounts and financial resources

Over 50? Join AARP today — because if you’re not a member you could be missing out on huge perks. When you start your membership today, you can get discounts on things like travel, meal deliveries, eyeglasses, prescriptions that aren’t covered by insurance and more.

How to become a member today:

  • Go here, select your free gift, and click “Join Today”
  • Create your account (important!) by answering a few simple questions
  • Start enjoying your discounts and perks!

Important: Start your membership by creating an account here and filling in all of the information (Do not skip this step!) Doing so will allow you to take up 25% off your AARP membership, making it just $12 per year with auto-renewal.

Become an AARP member now

What’s a credit booster app?

mimagephotos/Adobe woman smiling while using smartphone

A credit booster or credit builder app could help build your credit history with different options.

Some apps will lend you money that you pay back over time to help build your score by reporting to the credit score agencies — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — that you’re a responsible person to lend money.

Other apps allow you to pay bills through their apps and then report the payments to credit score agencies to help you build your credit history. Payment history accounts for 35% of your FICO credit score.

What are the pros and cons?

JacobLund/Adobe woman making online payments on call

Credit booster and credit builder apps can be a good option to consider if you need to build your credit history, especially if you're applying for a car loan or mortgage application.

But it’s also important to consider some of the costs associated with these types of apps. You may have to pay a monthly service fee to use the app, or you could be agreeing to a loan from the app with a high interest rate.

Make sure you factor in the advantages and potential costs before you decide to sign up with one of these credit booster apps.

Grow Credit

oatawa/Adobe happy man scrolling mobile at cafe

Streaming services like Netflix or Hulu, for example, get paid by you each month but don’t do much to help build your credit history.

That’s where an app like Grow Credit can help. You can pay for your streaming services through Grow, and the company will report your annual line of credit to the credit bureaus.

For the basic plan, you can pay up to $17 a month in your streaming bills through Grow along with $2.99 a month or $29.99 per year for a report sent to the credit bureaus who will see that Grow has extended you an annual line of credit worth $150.

Resolve $10,000 or more of your debt

Credit card debt is suffocating. It constantly weighs on your mind and controls every choice you make. You can end up emotionally and even physically drained from it. And even though you make regular payments, it feels like you can never make any progress because of the interest.

National Debt Relief could help you resolve your credit card debt with an affordable plan that works for you. Just tell them your situation, then find out your debt relief options.1

How to get National Debt Relief to help you resolve your debt: Sign up for a free debt assessment here. (Do not skip this step!) By signing up for a free assessment, National Debt Relief can assist you in settling your debt, but only if you schedule the assessment.

Try it

Self

only_kim/Adobe investor signing documents with male client

Self is a credit builder that will give you a loan and allow you to repay it, building credit over 24 months to help build your credit history.

There are various levels, starting with a $600 loan that you’ll pay back at a rate of $25 a month for 24 months. Self will then report your loan payments to help strengthen your score.

Be aware that the loan has more than a 14% interest rate, so you’ll spend $89 over the two years of the loan.

StellarFi

djile/Adobe happy man using tablet outside office

Connect your bank account to StellarFi, and you can pay your bills as usual through the service to help build your credit.

Instead of paying a bill directly, StellarFi withdraws the cash from your checking account to pay the bill and then reports that bill paid to credit agencies.

You can choose from two payment plans that cost either $4.99 per month or $9.99 per month, depending on the features you need.

Chime®

LIGHTFIELD STUDIOS/Adobe man holding card while on call

Chime® allows you to use a Secured Chime Credit Builder Visa® Credit Card that you prepay, and then it will report your completed purchases to strengthen your credit.23

To start, you have to have a Chime® Checking Account. You can also add money to your account as you go along to potentially help build your credit.

Experian Boost

Nusara/Adobe woman using smartphone at coffee shop

Experian — one of the three credit score reporting companies — allows consumers to use its on-time bill payments to strengthen their credit.

With the Experian Boost app, you can connect bank accounts, credit card accounts, or accounts you use to pay rent. The program will review your payment history to find bills you’ve paid on time.

Bills that can work as part of Experian Boost include phone, cable, internet, and water bills, online rental payments, and more.

Kikoff

Syda Productions/Adobe confused man with laptop and papers

Kikoff allows you to spend up to $750 in its online store in exchange for reporting your paid purchases to credit score agencies to help build your credit history.

Kikoff reports on-time payoffs to the credit bureaus to help your score with each purchase you make.

There are some catches to this app, as you have to pay $5 per month in service fees, and you can only shop with Kikoff to get credit for your purchases.

Other ways to help build your credit

mavoimages/Adobe businesswoman using card on phone

There are more traditional ways to strengthen your credit history if you don’t want to use a credit builder or booster.

The most important way is to pay your bills on time. Overdue notices or overdue fees can negatively impact your score, so it’s important to stay on top of your bills.

You can also open a credit card to expand your line of credit but don’t go overboard on spending. Opening additional lines of credit still means you have to pay them on time.

Earn cash back on everyday purchases with this rare account

Want to earn cash back on your everyday purchases without using a credit card? With the Discover®️ Cashback Debit Checking account (member FDIC), you can earn 1% cash back on up to $3,000 in debit card purchases each month!4

With no credit check to apply and no monthly fees to worry about, you can earn nearly passive income on purchases you’re making anyway — up to an extra $360 a year!

This rare checking account has other great perks too, like access to your paycheck up to 2 days early with Early Pay, no minimum deposit or monthly balance requirements, over 60K fee-free ATMs, and the ability to add cash to your account at Walmart stores nationwide.

Don’t leave money on the table — it only takes minutes to apply and it won’t impact your credit score.

Apply for a Discover Cashback Checking account today

Bottom line

fizkes/Adobe senior couple reviewing bills using laptop

Credit builders and boosters may be good options if you need to strengthen your credit for a loan application or want better interest rates from lenders.

But make sure you understand all the pros and cons of credit builders or boosters before you sign up for one, such as fees or interest rates.

And if you want to build wealth, make sure to only spend within your means and stick to a budget.

Lucrative, Flat-Rate Cash Rewards

5.0
info

Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card

Current Offer

$200 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases in the first 3 months

Annual Fee

$0

Rewards Rate

Earn unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases

Benefits and Drawbacks
Card Details


Author Details

Jenny Cohen

Jenny Cohen is a freelance writer who has covered a bit of everything, from finance to sports to her favorite TV shows. Her work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and FoxSports.com.