How fast can a credit score increase?

How can I now increase my credit score after I payed my debt?

• I just finished paying all my debt which wasnt much, like $400 total. I looked through all three agencies and my credit score is now around 597. Now that I have ZERO debt, how can i increase it so I can have a credit card and start building up my credit since credit cards are denying my application. How much time do i have to wait to apply for other credit cards? thanks for the answers.

• Answer:

  First congrats, now, start with applying for a "rebuilding your credit" credit card (HSBC or Premier First) Or get a student credit card, then use it, but DONT max it out.. and i repeat, DONT MAX IT OUT! credit bureaus look at the balance you have (usually $200 to start with) and see how close you are to reaching that balance every month. Use it wisely, mainly for small things like gas or something, then whrn the bill comes every month, pay it in full, not the cheap monthly payments. This will 1 help your credit score go up by showing you can handle your debts wisely and 2 show the credit card company the same which they will in turn (after a few months or so) up your credit limit {{yes this happened to me}} Now for the time between applying fot cards, thats tricky. There is no real time limit, because when you apply for credit, the agency looking is marked on your credit for up to 2 years. Its not necessarily bad, but its not necessarily good either. If you have too many agencies looking all at once, they might see you as a risk, and deny you. But once you have been awarded one credit card, and have it for a solid couple months (and make your payments on time) you should be getting preapproval letters (which we usually see as spam) in the mail, return some and see what happens. Good Luck