Here's how Experian Boost can help raise your credit score for free

If you’re trying to raise your credit score, paying your credit card bills on time and lowering your balances are two positive actions you can take. But if you need to bump your score up faster, you may also want to consider *Experian Boost®.

Experian Boost is a free feature that allows you to connect your utility and telecom accounts to your Experian credit report, which can potentially raise your FICO® Score.

Below, CNBC Select reviews what you need to know about the service, including how it works, its pros and cons, and more.

By linking your bills like monthly water and cell phone service, you can get credit for positive, on-time payments. Experian Boost requires you to have at least one active credit account, such as a credit card or personal loan, to sign up.

Here are some examples of the types of bills that are eligible for Experian Boost:

• Mobile and landline phones
• Rent payments
• Insurance payments (except for health insurance)
• Internet
• Telecom services including cable, satellite and television
• Utilities such as water, waste management, gas and electric
• Qualifying video streaming services such as Netflix®, HBO™, Hulu™ and Disney+™

Not all rent, telecommunications, utilities, video streaming, internet or insurance payments may be eligible to benefit from the Boost feature, according to Experian's website. You need to make at least three eligible payments to a qualifying service (payee) within six months for it to qualify for a boost; or, you must make at least one eligible payment to a qualifying service (payee) within three months for it to qualify for a boost.

Once you sign up and connect your bills to the service, you’ll instantly receive your new credit score, which may reflect an increase. According to Experian, on average users see a 13-point increase to their FICO® Score 8, which is based on Experian data. 

A score increase isn't guaranteed — Experian Boost just helps the credit bureau collect data it would otherwise miss. If you aren't making on-time payments with these eligible bills, your score likely won't increase.

Since this feature is provided by Experian, it only influences your Experian credit report and credit score. Signing up for Experian Boost won’t make a difference in your credit scores with Equifax or TransUnion. When you apply for credit, lenders may review your credit from any one of the credit bureaus. An increase in your Experian credit score may not improve your qualification odds for a loan or credit card if the lender uses Equifax or TransUnion.

Pros:

• Users can see an instant increase in their FICO 8 credit score upon successfully linking their accounts and initiating an analysis of their payments.
• Experian Boost is free to use.
• The service has additional features to help you manage your finances, like access to your FICO score and credit report, a free identity scan and personalized loan and credit card offers.
• The platform also provides personalized suggestions for how you can improve your credit score based on your financial activity.

Cons:

• Getting a boost from Experian only affects a version of your FICO score and won't affect the credit score reported by TransUnion and Equifax, the other two credit bureaus.
• Insurance that isn't paid monthly doesn't qualify for Experian Boost.
• The only rent payments that qualify for a boost are the ones made online to select property management companies or through rent payment platforms.

Experian Boost works by taking positive credit activity — like paying a bill on time every month — and using it to improve your credit score. It doesn't consider late or missed payments in the accounts that you link, so this wouldn't hurt your credit score.

1. Connect the bank account(s) you use to pay your bills.
2. Choose and verify the positive payment data you want added to your Experian credit file.
3. Receive an updated FICO® Score.

Experian Boost may pull positive payment data as far back as 24 months. Any late payments on linked accounts won’t be reported through this feature. (However, you should still pay outstanding bills quickly to avoid late fees.) 

Beyond the ability to boost your credit score, Experian Boost provides updates to your Experian credit report and FICO® Score every 30 days. You’ll also receive free credit monitoring alerts for changes to your Experian credit report, such as new account openings and balance updates.

For a more comprehensive credit monitoring plan that tracks changes to all three of your credit reports, consider Experian IdentityWorks℠ Premium, which has a free 7-day trial and then costs $24.99 per month for one adult. There are also a variety of family plans available for up to two adults and up to 10 children, which is the reason Experian IdentityWorks ranks as CNBC Select’s best credit monitoring service for families.

If you're unable to see a satisfactory change in your credit score through Experian Boost and don't want to stay for the credit monitoring services, there are other contenders with similar monitoring features. CreditWise from Capital One lets you monitor your credit score and personal information for free. One big difference between this and Experian is that CreditWise provides you with your TransUnion Vantage score, not the FICO score.

*Results may vary. Some may not see improved scores or approval odds. Not all lenders use Experian credit files, and not all lenders use scores impacted by Experian Boost.

While Experian Boost may bump up your credit score, you'll see a more dramatic rise if you nail the fundamentals of debt management. This means you should:

• Pay all of your bills on time, especially credit card and loan payments
• Avoid opening too many credit accounts in a short period
• Keep your credit utilization rate below 30%

One of the quickest ways to sink your credit score is by taking on too much debt and falling behind on your payments. One way to try and get out of this situation is to use a balance transfer card or debt consolidation loan to help make managing multiple debts easier.

As a last-ditch effort, you can use a debt settlement company to help reduce what you have to pay your creditors. We recommend Americor and National Debt Relief as two of the top debt settlement companies that we've reviewed.

If you're considering using a debt settlement company, understand their drawbacks. This could include a lower credit score and even lawsuits filed against you by your creditors. Still, it's sometimes a good path to getting rid of debt and allowing you to rebuild your score.

Experian Boost can help you reap the rewards of paying every possible eligible bill on time. The service is free to use and typically takes a couple of minutes to sign up and link the desired accounts. Keep in mind that not every payment is eligible to benefit from Experian Boost.

Even if you aren't able to see a significant increase in your credit score from Experian Boost, continuing positive credit habits like paying your bills on time and avoiding opening too many new lines of credit simultaneously can help improve your score over time.

At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every review is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of credit monitoring products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics.

Catch up on CNBC Select's in-depth coverage of credit cards, banking and money, and follow us on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to stay up to date.