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Carrying balances during the holidays???

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snowkitty
Established Contributor

Carrying balances during the holidays???

I have been paying in full each month on all of my cards since I got them. I have been letting balances hit just to show usage of my cards and then paying them off the next day. Since we are right here at the holidays, I have charged a couple "0% interest" deals on my cards with the intent on paying them off over the next couple of months. Is this going to throw up some red flags to my creditors? I see so many people here get limits cut and shut down that I'm almost OCD about making sure everything is paid. Now I am freaking out about the balances on some of them. I am no where near my credit limit on any of them....been real careful to put Christmas stuff on the cards with the highest credit limit so I don't kill my ulti. Am I overworrying about carrying a balance? It is not as common as I think for credit limits to be cut and/or shut down?

TU Fico 714 | Sesame 742 | Credit Karma 762 | Wal-Mart FICO 734 | EX FICO 695 (1/28/13) | EQ 740 (3-21-13)

Amex Blue Sky 7.2k | Amex BCE 13.1k | Citi Diamond Preferred 10.2k | CSP 5k | Bofa Cash 9k | Boa Travel 10k | Discover More 3k | Chase SW 5k | Wal-Mart 3.3k | Amazon 5k | Old Navy Visa 5k | Shell 1200 | BP 400 | VS 1500 | Sam's Discover 8.5k | FNBO Amex 16k | Chase Freedom 1.3k | Home Depot 5k | Brylane Homes 1600 | BML 2820

App free since 12/11/13*
Message 1 of 15
14 REPLIES 14
jsickz32
Valued Contributor

Re: Carrying balances during the holidays???

I think depends what your total utl was before xmas shopping and what it is now. I also went a little crazy on black friday but decided to pay it off in 2 months instead of pif. My utl went from 1% to 3% because of that
Amex BCE (2500) / Amex SPG (4000) / Amex GoldPR / Merrill+ Visa siggy (5000) / BofA Amex (6000) / Bofa cash rewards (5000) / BofA Privileges Cash Rewards (5000) / Citi Forward (4400) / Citi DP (2000) / Chase Freedom (4000) / Chase CSP (5000) / Chase Hyatt (5000) / Discover IT (1700) / FNBO AMEX (3600) / NFCU cashRewards Visa signature (15000) / NFCU Flagship Visa signature (12500) / NFCU Navcheck (5000) / Nordstrom (500) / MetroCU Visa Elite (5000) / Walmart (4500) / Kays Jewerels (6600) / Kohls (300) / Macys Platinum (2500) / DCU platinum Visa (17500) / Citizens bank cash back (1100) / Bill Me Later (1631) / PayPal Smart connect (2200) / BestBuy store card (2000)
Message 2 of 15
bribro
Valued Contributor

Re: Carrying balances during the holidays???

As long as you keep your utlization low (both per card and in the aggregate) you should be fine.

TU FICO: 800 (2/1/14) | CK Score: 802 (2/1/14) | CS Score: 805 (2/1/14)

J.P. Morgan Palladium ($250k) | AmEx Platinum (NPSL) | AmEx SPG Personal/Business ($50k/$50k) | Citi Executive AAdvantage WEMC ($50k) | Citi Dividend WEMC ($50k) | Chase Sapphire Preferred VS ($50k) | Chase Ink Bold WEMC ($50k Flex) | Chase Ink Plus WEMC ($25k) | Chase Freedom VS ($25k) | Chase Freedom WMC ($25k) | Chase MileagePlus Explorer ($25k) | Chase Southwest RR Plus Business/Personal ($15k/$15k) | Barclays US Airways ($25k) | Barclays Hawaiian Airlines ($25k) | BofA Alaska Airlines ($10k) | Lexus Financial Services ($30k) | Mercedes-Benz Financial Services ($50k)
Message 3 of 15
snowkitty
Established Contributor

Re: Carrying balances during the holidays???

My utility right now is 5% total but it will be around 10% when Dec. balances hit
TU Fico 714 | Sesame 742 | Credit Karma 762 | Wal-Mart FICO 734 | EX FICO 695 (1/28/13) | EQ 740 (3-21-13)

Amex Blue Sky 7.2k | Amex BCE 13.1k | Citi Diamond Preferred 10.2k | CSP 5k | Bofa Cash 9k | Boa Travel 10k | Discover More 3k | Chase SW 5k | Wal-Mart 3.3k | Amazon 5k | Old Navy Visa 5k | Shell 1200 | BP 400 | VS 1500 | Sam's Discover 8.5k | FNBO Amex 16k | Chase Freedom 1.3k | Home Depot 5k | Brylane Homes 1600 | BML 2820

App free since 12/11/13*
Message 4 of 15
09Lexie
Moderator Emerita

Re: Carrying balances during the holidays???

I am carrying a balance which will increase my util to almost 11%. I currently have a low util of 3% but I did purchase a large item on my MC early this month( had too date sensitive) but I can't pay it off until it posts and the statement cut off was yesterday.  I did PIF before I made the charge and was crossing my fingers that the item would not hit until after the statement (it's being delivered so they only held an authorized amount).  I also asked for and received 2 CLI on the cards I was eligible for and 1 card will report a zero balance; the others will report close to zero or under $100.  

 

Is there anything else I can do?

Message 5 of 15
navigatethis12
Valued Contributor

Re: Carrying balances during the holidays???

Ten percent is not enough to make any lender nervous. Go ahead and carry those balances.

Message 6 of 15
SwiftTone
Valued Contributor

Re: Carrying balances during the holidays???

My last reported balance is $4800/$5000 on my CSP right now which puts me at 24% utilization overall. This account isnt even 2 months old yet, and I also app for BCE the same time. Nothing has happened to me so far.

 

I carried a balance by accident because I changed my due date and my statement cut date didn't change so didn't know when to pay it to report a $0 balance.

AMEX: $25,000, CSR: $10,000, Chase Priority Club: $1,500, Freedom: $5000, Freedom Unlimited: $1000, Discover: $21,000, BoA $11,000, WF Cash Wise: $5000

EQ FICO - 753
TU FICO - 755
EX FICO(AMEX) - 766
Message 7 of 15
creditnocash
Valued Contributor

Re: Carrying balances during the holidays???

I carried a coupe 0%deals at best buy over a year or so. No troubles. Just this Black Friday it's reporting 1700/2500. At 70%. Planning on paying off by valentines day. If your not apping for it I wouldn't worry about it.

Btw util went from 4% to 11%


Current: Fico ScoresEQ~706 TU~719 EX 709 4/28/23

Inquiries (24 Months): EQ 0 TU 0 EX 0| Most Recent: A LONG WHILE
Over 12 Months:0


2023 Goals:
Buy A Home
Earn Cash Back

Amex Zync(Unicorn)
Chase Freedom$1500
Discover IT$7,400
Citi DC $10,000
Citizens Mastercard$7,000

Message 8 of 15
FinStar
Moderator Emeritus

Re: Carrying balances during the holidays???

Lenders will definitely take notice if a dramatic change occurs on your current credit profile or any internal risk factors that raise some flags.

 

While it is perfectly normal to have a concern about your utilization and any associated impacts it may have, lenders expect a certain fluctuation in balances from time to time (especially during the holidays).  If you are generally responsible about your finances and managing credit, then you have nothing to worry about.

 

10% is really nothing to be obsessed about.  This only compounds stress for most people during the holidays.

Message 9 of 15
jsickz32
Valued Contributor

Re: Carrying balances during the holidays???

@finstar
+1

Amex BCE (2500) / Amex SPG (4000) / Amex GoldPR / Merrill+ Visa siggy (5000) / BofA Amex (6000) / Bofa cash rewards (5000) / BofA Privileges Cash Rewards (5000) / Citi Forward (4400) / Citi DP (2000) / Chase Freedom (4000) / Chase CSP (5000) / Chase Hyatt (5000) / Discover IT (1700) / FNBO AMEX (3600) / NFCU cashRewards Visa signature (15000) / NFCU Flagship Visa signature (12500) / NFCU Navcheck (5000) / Nordstrom (500) / MetroCU Visa Elite (5000) / Walmart (4500) / Kays Jewerels (6600) / Kohls (300) / Macys Platinum (2500) / DCU platinum Visa (17500) / Citizens bank cash back (1100) / Bill Me Later (1631) / PayPal Smart connect (2200) / BestBuy store card (2000)
Message 10 of 15
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