Posted by James Mc (IL) on March 18, 2004 at 20:29:07:
It’s better to have some paid off completly.
Also, I’ve heard about the 27% level and the 35%, 50% and 75%. MORE TO THE POINT - The lower the better.
And each bank reports to each bureau on different dates. What I do is call each lender and find out what time of the month they report. And then transfer over the phone or online, everything that I owe. Then wait until I know that they have been reported as 0, then do it over again. What a pain.
You may gain by paying the balance in full each month before the due date on the interest that is paid. BUT, this is not relavent to the “date of reporting” that the bank does to transmit your file info.
A credit score can float 50 points or more by the total credit available percentage of available credit that you use.
I have used this trick to bump my credit scores up high to get the better rates. But, it’s also makes my cards almost useless - if I want or need to carry a balance AND have my score maxed out. Just can’t win.
Overall, it’s better to have very high available credit AND no balance owed to anyone. Just can’t win again. Cash is king - always.
Bruce & other Credit Experts, Please Help - Posted by Jeff/RomeGA
Posted by Jeff/RomeGA on March 17, 2004 at 10:41:41:
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I apologize in advance for the lengthy post, but wanted to clearly define what I’m attempting to accomplish.
I have a credit strategy question for the experts. My scores with all three bureaus have dramatically increased over the last 2 years to 653, 680 and 675, from 540 aprox before. It has been a slow laborious process. I am wanting to get them over 700 asap.
Also, within the next few weeks I will need to refinance several pieces of property. I currently have 43% to 46% of available credit free, according to Experian.
I have begun receiving credit card offers of 0 % introductory offers for balance transfers on a daily basis. I have a current credit card debt of aprox 3000 spread over 4 cards.
Now, I know applying for new credit lowers your scores, but the question is: will raising the debt ceiling and increasing the “spread” between available credit & credit used off set the harm? It would save some money on interest and give me a higher credit limit to do deals in the future, but I don’t want to pull the scores down any lower short term, especially since I need to cash out refi very soon and I’m probably “on the bubble” currently.
Bottom line, can I help myself out short term by increasing the debt ceiling and consolidating debt to lower interest rates?
Sorry this is so long, but I thank you all in advance for your help.
Congrats on raising your scores. It can be done. As for your questions I would advise against applying for more credit. You already have 4 credit cards that will offer you BT’s. You just have to call them and ask. If you have been paying all of your credit cards on time you should have no problem getting good BT rates. I just helped a client get a $10,000 2.9% BT until its paid from Citibank(This is good if you BT a high bablance).
You should keep you credit util. under 27%. Anything above that will really start hurting your credit score(i,e, only use $270 of $1000 CL).
Get a higher credit limit on your cards without getting the inquiries on your credit report. If you request the increase tell them you dont want them to check your credit report.
Re: Bruce & other Credit Experts, Please Help - Posted by Jeff/RomeGA
Posted by Jeff/RomeGA on March 18, 2004 at 10:30:40:
Thanks for your response and information. I contacted one of the card companies and they raised the credit limit from $2500 to $10,000 and lowered a 22.98 % APR to 14.98 %. I didn’t do this before I posted because I had called them last July and they wouldn’t change anything.
I knew I was too close to the 50% level of credit usage and that was lowering my score, but I had never heard of the 27% threshold. I thought the hits came at over 35%, 50% and 75%, so many thanks.
One follow up question though, Adam. Will they look at the total % of available credit, or at each account individually? If necessary I will spread the balance over each account to lower the percentage irregardless of individual card interest rates.
“One follow up question though, Adam. Will they look at the total % of available credit, or at each account individually? If necessary I will spread the balance over each account to lower the percentage irregardless of individual card interest rates.”
Every bank or CC is different. Some will look at how much you owe and others will just worry about the utilization %. Sometimes if your applying for a CC they may say you have too much credit available to you. It really depends on the issuer.
I dont know which issuer lowered your interest to 14% but that is still high. You should, as long as you credit score isnt bad, get rates under 10%. I wouldnt doubt that the CC you are talking about is Capital One. You can offten contact the CC’s retention dept. for a much lower interest rates. I personally have a CC at 6.24% which I got through the retention dept.
Good luck to you. If you need more help just email me.