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Credit Card Utilization spread

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canoworms
Visitor

Credit Card Utilization spread

I have one CC that I use most and thus carries an avg monthly balance of $3000.  My other 2 CCs have zero balance.  Is this weighting of balance onto one CC negatively impacting my FICO?  Is it better to spread out the usage and balance between the three cards ($2,000/each card)?  Thanks!

Message 1 of 8
7 REPLIES 7
MidnightVoice
Super Contributor

Re: Credit Card Utilization spread


@canoworms wrote:

  Is it better to spread out the usage and balance between the three cards ($2,000/each card)?  Thanks!


yes

 

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/fico/board/message?board.id=ficoscoring&thread.id=32919&jump=true

 

 

 

The slide from grace is really more like gliding
And I've found the trick is not to stop the sliding
But to find a graceful way of staying slid
Message 2 of 8
Creditaddict
Legendary Contributor

Re: Credit Card Utilization spread

depends on CL's of the other cards that you are going to have 2k on.

you might take a score hit for having 1 card with high util, but you are getting a score boost for only have 1 of your cards report a balance.

 

if you spread it out, you might not get a ding for high util, but you will get a ding for having all accounts reporting balances.

Message 3 of 8
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Credit Card Utilization spread

Midnight- Doesn't it also matter how many accounts one has? If you only have three accounts I was under the impression you only wanted one to report... right?
Message 4 of 8
Creditaddict
Legendary Contributor

Re: Credit Card Utilization spread


@Anonymous wrote:
Midnight- Doesn't it also matter how many accounts one has? If you only have three accounts I was under the impression you only wanted one to report... right?

 

That's what I would say.
Message 5 of 8
smallfry
Senior Contributor

Re: Credit Card Utilization spread


@Anonymous wrote:
Midnight- Doesn't it also matter how many accounts one has? If you only have three accounts I was under the impression you only wanted one to report... right?

It depends. Do you have any installment accounts in addition to the 3 CC's? If you don't you will need to let just 1 card report a balance each period. If you don't care about defeating one of the purposes of using credit by getting some float just pay the card under 9% of the credit limit. Your only other choice would be to get 2 more cards. 1 really won't help your accounts with balances if CC's are your only open tradelines. 

Message 6 of 8
haulingthescoreup
Moderator Emerita

Re: Credit Card Utilization spread


Creditaddict wrote:

@Anonymous wrote:
Midnight- Doesn't it also matter how many accounts one has? If you only have three accounts I was under the impression you only wanted one to report... right?

 

That's what I would say.

This is what you do when you have your balances under control. But if you have a maxed-out card, that's bad for your scores, so it might be better to spread it out a bit.

Canoworms, welcome to the forums!

Do you pay off that $3000 every month, or are you carrying all or part of that over every month?

If you pay it off every month, pay all but $10 of it about five days before your statement posts. That way, $10 will report instead of $3K, and that will do wonders for your util.

If you're carrying a balance, you should concentrate on knocking that down. For maybe two months, use a different card, but don't let your total balances increase. Only charge things that you would otherwise pay cash for, and that you have the money to pay off.
Message Edited by haulingthescoreup on 02-04-2009 04:07 PM
* Credit is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master. * Who's the boss --you or your credit?
FICO's: EQ 781 - TU 793 - EX 779 (from PSECU) - Done credit hunting; having fun with credit gardening. - EQ 590 on 5/14/2007
Message 7 of 8
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Credit Card Utilization spread

Most generally, yes. What is the credit limit of the card with a $3000 balance?
Message 8 of 8
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