Best Way to Check and Increase Your Credit Scores (2026): Experian Boost® Named Top Tool for Raising Credit Scores by Expert Consumers

NEW YORK, June 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Expert Consumers has released a new in depth review highlighting Experian Boost® and its role in helping people increase their credit scores. Experian Boost allows users to link everyday bill payments to their Experian® credit file, giving a clearer picture of financial responsibility and offering a practical way to improve credit scores*.

Credit scores now play a central role in financial life. They affect loan approvals, interest rates, rental applications, and even some insurance pricing. Because of this, more people are looking for tools that help them understand their credit scores and offer realistic ways to improve them. This has driven growing interest in credit platforms that do more than just display a number.

Top Tool for Raising Credit Scores

• Experian Boost® - Connect everyday bill payments to your Experian credit report, track real-time updates, and gain practical insights to improve credit scores with transparency and control.

How credit score checking has changed
For many years, credit score checkers served a single purpose: show a score and a credit report. While this information remains useful, it often leaves people unsure how to improve their situation. Many responsible financial behaviors were not captured in traditional credit reports, especially everyday payments such as utilities, phone bills, and streaming subscriptions.

Newer credit tools are addressing this gap by connecting real world payment habits to credit data. Experian Boost® is designed around this idea. It allows users to add certain recurring bills to their Experian credit file so that on time payments for common services can be reflected in their credit scores.

By doing this, the tool makes credit reporting more reflective of how people actually manage their money. Someone who pays their electricity, mobile phone, or internet bill every month is showing consistency and reliability, even if they do not have many credit cards or loans.

How Experian Boost® works
Experian Boost works by securely connecting to a user's bank account. Once connected, the tool scans transaction history for qualifying recurring payments. These typically include utilities, mobile phone services, internet providers, streaming platforms, and some insurance payments.

After these payments are identified, the user chooses which ones to add to their Experian credit report. Once confirmed, the payments become part of the Experian credit file, and the user's credit score is recalculated to reflect the added data. This process happens in real time, which allows people to see their results instantly.

Only positive payment information is included. Late payments for eligible bills are not added, which reduces the chance of a negative effect on a credit score. Users also remain in control and can remove any bill or disconnect their bank account at any time.

What users get with an Experian account
When someone signs up for a free Experian account, they gain access to a full set of credit tools that work alongside Experian Boost, including:

• Access to their Experian credit report
• A regularly updated Experian FICO® Score**
• Credit monitoring for new accounts and report changes
• Alerts for potential fraud or unusual activity
• The option to connect to Experian Boost

With Experian Boost enabled, users can see how their added payments influence their scores. This makes it easier to understand how everyday financial habits connect to credit health.

Experian also offers optional paid plans that include access to reports from all three credit bureaus and identity protection services. These upgrades are not required to use Experian Boost, which keeps the main feature available to a wide range of consumers.

Why adding everyday payments matters
Credit scores are built from the data in a person's credit file. Payment history, account activity, and the number of reporting accounts all play a role. When a credit file contains only a few accounts, there is limited information for scoring models to evaluate.

By adding verified on time payments, Experian Boost increases the amount of positive data in a credit file. This can be especially helpful for people with thin credit histories, such as those new to credit or those who have only one or two active accounts. More data points provide a clearer picture of how reliably someone handles their financial obligations.

Even consumers with established credit can benefit if their everyday bills were not previously reported. Over time, these additional records contribute to a stronger payment history profile.

Looking ahead
As financial decisions increasingly depend on credit data, tools that provide both insight and practical ways to improve scores are becoming more important. Linking everyday payments to credit files helps create a more complete picture of a person's financial behavior.

By connecting credit monitoring with the ability to add verified payment history, Experian Boost® offers a modern approach to credit building that fits how people live and pay their bills. For the full review, visit ExpertConsumers.org.

About Experian

Experian is a global data and analytics company that operates one of the three major consumer credit bureaus in the United States. It collects and maintains credit information used by lenders, landlords, and financial institutions when evaluating applications for loans, housing, and other services. Experian also provides consumer tools for monitoring credit, managing identity protection, and understanding financial health. Through products such as Experian Boost, the company continues to develop ways for everyday financial activity to be reflected more accurately in consumer credit records.

Disclosures:

*Results will vary. Not all payments are boost-eligible or considered by lenders. See Experian.com for details.

**Credit score calculated based on FICO® Score 8 model. Your lender or insurer may use a different FICO® Score than FICO® Score 8, or another type of credit score altogether. Learn More.

About ExpertConsumers.org: Expert Expert Consumers delivers news and insights on consumer products and services. As an affiliate, Expert Consumers may earn commissions from sales generated using links provided.

SOURCE ExpertConsumers.org