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The number one question consumers who have low credit scores ask is, "What's the fastest way to raise my credit score?". The answer is always the same, "How much do you want to raise it?".

To go from a score of 570 to 650 requires a different strategy than from a score of 670 to 720. Why? Because in the world of finance, these two starting points are breeds apart. The first is like tuning up a cheap violin while the second is like tuning up a Stradivarius. Also, while the removal of negative items from a reportwill almost always lead to an increase in score, it's a basic concept at best. Therefore, within this article, we'll discuss somewhat insider techniques known by very few.

If you want to remove derogatory information from your report these techniques will also help you remove negative items. Let's start with the most basic strategy and that's your...

DEBT to CREDIT RATIO. This is the most misunderstood and confusing aspect of using credit wisely. Most people would say, "I have excellent credit, I pay all my bills off in full every month!" Believe it or not paying off ALL your bills in full on time actually impacts your score negatively! What would really be beneficial to these people would be to understand their debt to credit ratio and then apply this knowledge for their benefit.

For revolving accounts only, your debt to credit ratio is your ratio of debt to total available credit you have been extended. For example, you have a total of $10,000 in total unsecured revolving credit accounts and you're currently in debt for $2500, then your debt to current ratio is 25% This is because lenders make most of their profits through charging interest, one part of the credit scoring model is driven by your ability to maintain balances and pay over time. This shows your true credit worthiness which is most profitable to lenders since they primarily make most of their money through interest and not annual fees.

It's been known over a number a years now that carrying the proper debt to credit ratio will increase your score quicker than paying off your bills in full each month. According to Terry Price there is proof available of this at Fair Isaacs own website, www.MyFico.com. Fair Isaacs' organization invented the software credit bureaus use to calculate credit worthiness.

What should you do if your debt to credit ratio is very high like most American's? For example, you have $10,000 in unsecured revolving accounts but you owe $8500, thereby giving you an 85% debt to credit ratio. How can you bring it down without selling you own? The answer is simple and takes us to the next tecnique which is...

SUB-PRIME MERCHANDISE CARDS: The single most effective (and powerful) tool for consumers to increase their high credit limit and decrease their debt to credit ratio is the use of Sub-Prime Merchandise Cards. The trick is to know which ones are legitimate and also report to the credit bureaus.

However, despite their immense benefits, these are the most misunderstood cards in the credit industry. A large portion of the misunderstanding is due to marketers misrepresenting the cards and the growing number of of companies promoting them. When you learn which are the right cards and how they work one quickly understand why they have been the subject of such misrepresentation.

A Sub-Prime Merchandise Card is just a card attached to a line of credit that allows one to buy merchandise from a vendor. The vendor is usually the company that issues the card. The merchandise (in most cases)will be purchased from a catalog or online.

The problem arises because the cards are marketed almost exclusively to the sub prime market via email, telemarketing and direct mail etc. This is because they can advertise irresistible offers like, "$5,000 Credit Card...GUARANTEED! No Credit Check! No Cosigner! You cannot be turned down!" or "Unsecured $10,000 Credit LIne! Everyone Approved!". You get the picture.

Since there are many shady companies that do this, there are a small few which do it legitimately and it is the best kept secret to build your credit and build it fast.

The way it works is as follows: the company takes down your information like you name and address and and issues you a card for $2,500 to $12,000 with NO credit check and NO cosignor. But, the card is only is only good for merchandise through their website or catalogs and the consumer is required to put down a deposit on whatever they purchase. After the deposit is paid, the remaining balance is financed on the card.

For example, a person buys $1,000 worth of merchandise. Their deposit $300 so they then finance $700 on their merchandise card and make payments. Sound like a scam? If you say "Yes" like everybody else then you're missing the whole point.

With a card from the few legitimate Sub-Prime Merchandise Card companies your credit line WILL be reported to at least one major credit bureau or more. This has the following effect on your credit report:

1.) If your deposit was $500 and you financed $4,500 your credit report reflect an increase credit limit of $5,000 almost overnight. since the account will appear like any other unsecured revolving account.

2.) Since you are carrying a small outstanding balance, it will impact your credit report by building and showing lenders your credit worthiness.

3.) By making your payments on time you establish a good paying history which will virtually guarantee receiving "legitimate" pre-approved credit offers in the future due to other lenders renting your name from the credit bureaus.

With the combination of ease of use, low cost and effectiveness, this technique is very hard to beat. Of course the whole trick is in knowing exactly which cards currently report to the credit bureaus and offer the best rates. At the end of this article, you'll find more information on how to get the names of these little known cards.

PIGGYBACKING: For an extremely fast, easy and effective technique this one is hardly used as much as it should be by most consumers. It is mostly used by parents and sibling while those can can benefit the most stay in the dark of its virtually unlimited potential.

This is how this works. Most credit card or credit card account will allow the primary account holder to add on (at a later date) what's called an "Authorized User" or "Secondary Account Holder". In most cases, when this is done, the entire account history all the way from the beginning of the account gets posted to the authorized user's credit report regardless of their current age or credit history!

For example, if it's a credit card with a $10,000 limit which has been paid as agreed for the last 10 years, then that complete history will be posted to the authorized user's credit report. As you can see this strategy is usually only used by parents and their children and in most cases with no regard to the benefits the children are reaping credit wise!

In recent years, due to its effectiveness, this technique has led people to "rent out" authorized user accounts on one or even multiple credit cards in return for a fee! Like most good credit loopholes, this method's days are numbered.

ADVANCED CREDIT PROFILING: This is a strategy while not complex, can be taken to very complex levels. Even in its most basic form, it's taken advantage of by very, very few. It involves intentionally building your credit report in a way which creates a "profile" that closely resembles the criteria of most lenders (as well as the credit scoring system). It can be used in many complex ways but for gaining a better understanding, I'll explain it in its most most basic form.

Some people will boast about having 10, 20, 30 or even 50 thousand dollars worth of credit cards on their report, many of these same people will not have one mortgage, automotive loan or lease, equipment loan or even a line of credit with a local bank or credit union. These other forms of credit create a much more well rounded credit profile for the consumer. This is achieve by showing greater credit account diversity and experience with multiple types of credit due to the various lines held.

For example, a person with $50k in credit cards does not represent nearly the credit experience as a person with the same $50k along with a mortgage, an automotive loand and an equipment lease. There are people who have financed vehicles not because they had to (or even wanted) but because they "needed to" in order to create a credit profile that would position them in the future to secure the lowest possible interest rate on a mortgage.

More complex forms of Advanced Credit Profiling involve one subscribing to affluent or semi-affluent business and professional publications and organizations. These would include magazines, newsletters, trade journals and national associations. The goal is to get one's name into the database of these publications and organizations. Why would you want to do this? Obviously to get on highly targeted lists in order to receive select credit offers.

To understand this you have to think like a credit card marketer. They are looking to make money on interest. There are to ways to make this money: 1 way is to charge high interest for small purchases or low interest for high purchases. Since affluent people tend to make large purchases you can make them tempting low inteest rate cards and hope they'll bite. This is due to the fact that marketers have found that simply renting names of consumers from credit bureaus does not provide enough information about the person as a credit risk ANYMORE. Therefore it is thought that many will rent a list from the credit bureau and then cross-reference this list against another list they have secured from a consumer source such as an affluent business or professional publication, trade journal or organization.

When the marketer cross checks these lists, they invariably find matching names belong to the same address. This provides them with a highly refined and targeted list to mail their offer to. This results in shortening the process of securing a new quality account holder thus lowering the overall account acquistion cost of new accounts.

When you learn how to intentionally put yourself into these databases to wind up on these refined lists, the credit building process is sped up incredibly! You might think that this is "highly speculative" but there is undeniable evidence that it works.

DEPOSIT LOAN PROGRAMS: This technique has every indication of being a scam until you read the facts. It allows the consumer or business to have a $25,000 to $250,000 loan appear on their credit report as "Paid as Agreed" by way of very creative financing. This method is extremely effective but not within the budget of most (%750 to $7,500 up front). Also, because this technique takes advantage of certain banking laws, there is reason to believe it could be made unavailable at any time if those banking laws were to change. This method can be used with consumer credit files on SSN's as well as business and corporate credit fiels done on TIN's as well as Dunn and Bradstreet.

In today's highly financed world, all of us need to understand that today our credit score is more important than it has ever been in the history of the credit reporting system. While credit miracles don't happen overnight, you can create your own credit miracles by applying simple insider strategies consistently over time. Before you know it you'll be a proud member of the 700 Club. The "700 Plus Credit Score" club that is!