Credit utilization — the portion of your credit limits that you are currently using — is a significant factor in credit scores. It is one reason your credit score could drop a little after you pay off debt, particularly if you close the account.

For most people, increasing a credit score by 100 points in a month isn’t going to happen. But if you pay your bills on time, eliminate your consumer debt, don’t run large balances on your cards and maintain a mix of both consumer and secured borrowing, an increase in your credit could happen within months.

Here are 10 ways to increase your credit score by 100 points – most often this can be done within 45 days.

1. Check your credit report.
2. Pay your bills on time.
3. Pay off any collections.
4. Get caught up on past-due bills.
5. Keep balances low on your credit cards.
6. Pay off debt rather than continually transferring it.

Pulling your credit report is the first step to identifying why your score dropped 100 points. You can identify all recent negative items that may have affected your score, leading to the drop. Remember that the most common reason for a 100 point drop is due to balance changes. An old credit card account closed.

Credit scores can drop due to a variety of reasons, including late or missed payments, changes to your credit utilization rate, a change in your credit mix, closing older accounts (which may shorten your length of credit history overall), or applying for new credit accounts.

There are several factors that make up your credit score, and paying off debt does not positively affect all of them. Paying off debt may lower your credit score if it changes your credit mix, credit utilization or average account age.

Let’s take a look at a few ways these factors can affect your credit score. Your credit utilization — or amounts owed — will see a positive bump as you pay off debts. Paying off a credit card or line of credit can significantly improve your credit utilization and, in turn, significantly raise your credit score.

A credit score of 900 is either not possible or not very relevant. On the standard 300-850 range used by FICO and VantageScore, a credit score of 800+ is considered “perfect.” That’s because higher scores won’t really save you any money.

If your credit score is 750 or above, congratulations are in order. When it comes to getting a mortgage, a score of 750 or higher may impress lenders—but your credit score is not the only thing that impacts your approval and what your interest rate will be.

As someone with a 650 credit score, you are firmly in the “fair” territory of credit. You can usually qualify for financial products like a mortgage or car loan, but you will likely pay higher interest rates than someone with a better credit score. The “good” credit range starts at 690.

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Credit score: Most lenders require a minimum credit score of 600, though some lenders may look at scores slightly lower. If you want to qualify for a personal loan of $50,000, your credit score should be 650 or higher.

Editorial and user-generated content is not provided, reviewed or endorsed by any company. The best places to get a $20,000 loan with fair credit include LightStream, SoFi and Marcus. Most major personal loan providers have minimum credit score requirements that are within the fair credit range (640 to 699).

Personal loan applicants with a FICO credit score of 670 or higher, you may have a good shot at getting a $20,000 personal loan with a favorable rate and loan term. While it’s possible to get approved with a credit score lower than that, it could get expensive. Many mainstream lenders charge as high as 36 percent.

Cleo Plus paid features Cleo Cover lets you borrow up to $100 if you need a bit cash to get by or if your checking account is in danger of going into the red. No interest is charged on the loan amount, so long as you repay what you borrowed within three to 28 days later.

The standard option is free, but it may take up to three business days to receive your money. The express option allows you to get your money the same day, but you must pay a “small” fee (Dave doesn’t specify on its website how much that fee is).

Mobile apps like Dave offer people the ability to borrow small amounts of money in the form of cash advances. Some have additional features such as overdraft protection and budgeting tools — but be aware that they may require a monthly membership fee. We’ve rounded up four apps like Dave that you may want to consider.

Dave doesn’t charge late fees or penalties. If we’re unable to collect payment on your due date, we’ll send you an email. We’ll check your bank account balance before we withdraw anything (to prevent an overdraft). Then, we’ll attempt to collect the funds every day with partial or full payments..