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How Experian Boost® Could Improve Your FICO® Score

Chime Team • April 7, 2025

Sure, paying your bills on-time can help you build credit over time. But why not give your credit scores some extra love?

With Chime’s partnership with Experian®, you can get credit for the bills you’re already paying and start watching your FICO® Score1 grow.

Good credit scores can help you with loan approvals and new credit applications. How? By making your credit application more enticing to lenders. What’s one of the ways Chime helps members increase their credit scores quickly? Experian Boost®.2

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What’s Experian Boost?

We’ve teamed up with Experian to offer a free and easy way to help raise your FICO® Score with eligible bills you’re already paying through Chime.

If you’ve worked to improve your credit scores over months or even years, seeing your credit scores go up faster can be extremely rewarding. Using Experian Boost is a safe way to increase your FICO® Score and give you credit for the qualifying bills you’re already paying.

Qualifying bills include subscriptions like Netflix®, Disney+™, Hulu®, HBO®, AT&T®, Verizon®, Spectrum®, and more. Qualifying bills also include monthly utility bills like gas, electricity, and water, trash, phone, and internet bills.

As a Chime member, you can easily connect Experian Boost to your account, quickly and for free.

How to use Experian Boost with Chime

Within your Chime app, sign up and connect to Experian after tapping Credit tracking on the home screen. When you use Experian Boost,

  1. Experian scans your transaction history for qualifying merchants (like the ones listed above).
  2. It then looks for three consecutive on-time payments that you made to those merchants within the last six months.
  3. Experian then adds these payments to your Experian credit file to help improve your FICO® Score.

Experian Boost only considers your on-time payments, so late payments for these merchants won’t hurt your credit scores. The whole process takes about five minutes. It’s a fast, safe, and easy way to boost your credit scores.

How to check your FICO® Score for free in the Chime app

Whether you’re using Experian Boost or not, you can track your FICO® Score anytime you want, right in the Chime app. Read more on how to track your FICO Score in the app – you can see your FICO® Score at any time with just a few taps!

We’ll alert you every time your FICO® Score is updated in the app because we love keeping you in the loop.

Is Experian Boost free?

Yes! Any Chime member has access to sign up, for free, in the Chime app.

Not a member yet? Applying for an account is free and takes less than 2 minutes.

How much will Experian Boost increase my FICO® Score?

The average user who receives a boost sees an increase of 13 points.2

You just need to make three on-time payments in a row on a qualifying bill to unlock a boost. Qualifying bills include Netflix®, Disney+™, Hulu®, HBO®, AT&T®, Verizon®, Spectrum® and more.

Can Experian Boost hurt my FICO® Score?

Experian Boost only includes your positive payment history, so late payments won’t hurt your credit scores. However, overall results may vary.2

To qualify for more boosts to your credit scores, remember to continue making on-time payments and add additional eligible bills.

Better credit is possible with Experian Boost through Chime

You’re already paying for that streaming service – so why not put it to work improving your FICO® Score?

Chime has more than one way to work on building your credit score. Our Chime Credit Builder Secured Visa® Credit Card3 helps you start building credit with everyday purchases and on-time payments.4 And remember, good things can happen when you focus on building your credit!

#1 most-loved banking app™~
  • Over 1,000,000+ five-star reviews on Google Play & Apple Store
  • Send and receive money fee-free
  • Deposit checks from anywhere
Get Started