10 Steps to Repairing Your Credit. #7 Is Extremely Important

4. Apply for New Credit

Next up is to apply for new credit.  Only do this if you are unable to increase your credit limit so that your credit utilization rate is below 30%.  When applying for new credit, apply in batches. That means apply for all the credit cards you want within a 30 day window.  If you apply for credit cards in batches, it only counts as one hard inquiry on your credit report, thereby not further harming your credit score.  Applying for new credit works much the same way as increasing your credit line—it reduces your credit utilization rate.