You’ve Hit a 700 Credit Score—Now What? 5 Proven Ways to Keep Improving it

Why a 700 Credit Score Isn’t the Finish Line

Congratulations on reaching a 700 credit score! However, this milestone marks the beginning of your journey towards financial excellence rather than the end. In 2025, over 90% of loan approvals in India go to borrowers with scores above 750, whilst those with 800+ ratings secure the most favourable terms.

The Reserve Bank of India’s recent directives now mandate biweekly credit score updates, making your financial behaviour more transparent than ever. A 700 credit score places you in the “good” category, but premium products require “very good” (750-800) or “excellent” (800+) ratings. Consider this: a borrower with a 705 score might receive a personal loan at 16.5% interest, whilst someone with a 780 score could secure the same loan at 11.9%—saving over ₹27,000 on a ₹5 lakh, three-year loan.

1. Perfect Your Payment Precision

Your payment history contributes approximately 35% to your credit score calculation, making it the most critical factor. Even a single missed payment can remain on your credit report for seven years and potentially drop your score by 50-100 points.

Set up automatic payments for all EMIs and credit card bills to ensure you never miss a due date. When applying for an Airtel Finance Personal Loan, your consistent payment history will directly influence your eligibility and interest rates.

For large upcoming expenses like insurance premiums or school fees, consider using alternative payment methods to maintain your payment track record. This strategic approach prevents cash flow disruptions that might lead to missed payments.

2. Master Your Credit Utilisation Ratio

Credit utilisation ratio represents your total outstanding balances divided by your total available credit limits. Maintaining this ratio below 30% significantly impacts your 700 credit score improvement journey.

Here’s a practical calculation: If your total credit card limit equals ₹1,00,000, keep your outstanding balances under ₹30,000 at all times. Rahul, a Mumbai-based professional, had ₹80,000 outstanding on his ₹1,00,000 limit (80% utilisation). After paying down ₹50,000, reducing his utilisation to 30%, his score improved by 45 points within two billing cycles.

Strategic Approach:

• Request credit limit increases before making large purchases
• Use multiple cards to distribute spending
• Pay balances before statement generation dates

3. Diversify Your Credit Portfolio Strategically

A balanced mix of secured and unsecured credit products demonstrates mature financial management to lenders. This credit mix accounts for approximately 10% of your score calculation but can significantly impact your 700 credit score trajectory.

Secured Credit Products:

• Gold loans
• Fixed deposits against loans
• Vehicle loans

Unsecured Credit Products:

• Personal loans
• Credit cards
• Business loans

Maintain older credit accounts active, as closing them reduces your average credit age and can lower your score. Use your oldest credit card for small monthly expenses and set up automatic payments to keep the account active without manual intervention.

Customer Story: Priya from Bangalore closed her oldest credit card to “simplify” her finances. Her average credit age dropped from 8 years to 4 years, causing her score to decrease by 35 points. She learnt that keeping old accounts active, even with minimal usage, maintains her credit history length.

4. Monitor and Dispute Errors Proactively

RBI’s 2025 guidelines mandate bi-weekly credit score updates and seven-day dispute resolution timelines. This means errors can now be corrected faster, but also that negative actions impact your score more quickly. Download your credit report every 15 days, especially before applying for new credit products.

Common errors include:

1. Incorrect outstanding balances
2. Closed loans showing as active
3. Payments not reflected properly
4. Fraudulent accounts

Step-by-Step Dispute Process:

1. Identify discrepancies in your credit report
2. File disputes online through the CIBIL portal
3. Provide supporting documentation
4. Follow up within the seven-day resolution window

Regular monitoring through Airtel Finance’s credit score service helps you track improvements and identify issues before they impact your borrowing capacity.

5. Limit New Credit Applications and Expand Wisely

Each loan or credit card application triggers a “hard enquiry” that can reduce your 700 credit score by 5-10 points. Multiple applications within short periods signal financial distress to lenders, potentially causing larger score drops.

Space new applications at least six months apart to minimise impact. Instead of applying for multiple credit cards, consider consolidating existing high-interest debt with a personal loan at lower interest rates.

Scenario: Arjun applied for three credit cards within two months, seeking higher limits. Each application generated a hard enquiry, and his score dropped 30 points due to the concentrated applications. Lenders viewed this pattern as credit-hungry behaviour.

Building Excellence Beyond 700

Achieving an excellent credit score above 800 requires patience and consistency. Focus on maintaining payment discipline, keeping utilisation low, and building a diverse credit portfolio over time. Your 700 credit score represents solid financial management, but the journey to 800+ unlocks premium financial opportunities.

Consider using Airtel Finance products strategically—a personal loan for debt consolidation or responsible credit card usage—to build a stronger credit profile. Check your credit score regularly through the Airtel Thanks app to monitor your progress and ensure your efforts translate into score improvements. Remember, every responsible financial decision contributes to your long-term creditworthiness and opens doors to better borrowing terms.

FAQs

1. How often should I check my 700 credit score for improvements?

With RBI’s new bi-weekly update system, check your score every 15 days to track progress and identify changes quickly, especially before applying for loans or credit cards.

2. Can consolidating debt with a personal loan improve my credit score?

Yes, using a personal loan to pay off high-interest credit cards reduces your utilisation ratio and simplifies payments, potentially improving your 700 credit score significantly.

3. What’s the fastest way to increase my 700 credit score to 750?

Focus on reducing credit utilisation below 10%, correcting any report errors, and maintaining a perfect payment history. These changes can boost your score within 2-3 months.

4. Does applying for a credit limit increase affect my 700 credit score?

Most limit increase requests with existing banks use soft enquiries that don’t impact your score, unlike new credit applications, which trigger hard enquiries.

5. How long does it take to reach an 800 credit score from 700?

With consistent good habits—timely payments, low utilisation, and a diverse credit mix—expect 12-18 months to move from a 700 credit score to 800+.