How much more than the minimum should someone pay?

[JKSIMMONS]

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@user5387 wrote:

If I was in this situation, I'd tackle Amex first and NFCU last.

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That's probably what I will do due to the fact that I want the relationship with AMEX the most.

[Stralem]

All of my minimum payments fall in the $25 to $45 dollar range, so I always do 3x as an absolute minimum. What usually ends up happening is that I dump whatever I can towards a balance, though. Like $350 towards a balance with a $25 minimum. That's just how I prefer to do things.

So far, I've heard nothing but compliments from every lender I've had a conversation with.

[toi34]

I went on a shopping spree at the end of January. I have given myself 3 months to pay everybody off, so I divided my total balances per card by 3 and that's how much I have paid every month.

Give yourself a firm payoff date, divide the number of months my the balances, and that's how much you should pay.

GL!

[mrlh1980]

Why not paid in full? I don't spend whatever I can't pay in full. I love the American Express charge card for this. I'm sure other companies would like to see paid in full vs not paid in full. I even spoke with a credit analysts from Bank of America, she mentioned what they like to see is payments in full. That shows great responsibilities. Then she mentioned about my utilization being 5% is great. Now, this month my utilization went to 2%. Which only gave me 8 points on Transunion from 755 to 763

[Stralem]

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@mrlh1980 wrote:

Why not paid in full? I don't spend whatever I can't pay in full. I love the American Express charge card for this. I'm sure other companies would like to see paid in full vs not paid in full. I even spoke with a credit analysts from Bank of America, she mentioned what they like to see is payments in full. That shows great responsibilities. Then she mentioned about my utilization being 5% is great. Now, this month my utilization went to 2%. Which only gave me 8 points on Transunion from 755 to 763

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Yeah, because the only reason people carry balances is to buy the newest sneakers and video gaming machines.

Sudden vehicle repair costs and unexpected medical expenses?

Pssssssh!

Judgemental **bleep**.

[toi34]

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@Stralem wrote:

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@mrlh1980 wrote:

Why not paid in full? I don't spend whatever I can't pay in full. I love the American Express charge card for this. I'm sure other companies would like to see paid in full vs not paid in full. I even spoke with a credit analysts from Bank of America, she mentioned what they like to see is payments in full. That shows great responsibilities. Then she mentioned about my utilization being 5% is great. Now, this month my utilization went to 2%. Which only gave me 8 points on Transunion from 755 to 763

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Yeah, because the only reason people carry balances is to buy the newest sneakers and video gaming machines.

Sudden vehicle repair costs and unexpected medical expenses?

Pssssssh!

Judgemental **bleep**.

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YES...you are being judgemental and you definately don't know what you're talking about. Truth be told, people can do whatever they want with their credit -- operative word(s) THEIR CREDIT, and thus it is none of your business. If you're not going to stay positive, as per the decorum policy, then stay off.

On another note, in order for one to build credit, he/she needs to demonstrate good payment activity over time; in order to do that one would need to carry balances and pay them off responsibly OVER TIME....get it???

[09Lexie]

Let's remember to be respectful in your comments, as to not violate myfico's TOS and User Guidelines.

Lexie, myFICO Moderator

[JKSIMMONS]

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@Stralem wrote:

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@mrlh1980 wrote:

Why not paid in full? I don't spend whatever I can't pay in full. I love the American Express charge card for this. I'm sure other companies would like to see paid in full vs not paid in full. I even spoke with a credit analysts from Bank of America, she mentioned what they like to see is payments in full. That shows great responsibilities. Then she mentioned about my utilization being 5% is great. Now, this month my utilization went to 2%. Which only gave me 8 points on Transunion from 755 to 763

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Yeah, because the only reason people carry balances is to buy the newest sneakers and video gaming machines.

Sudden vehicle repair costs and unexpected medical expenses?

Pssssssh!

Judgemental **bleep**.

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+1

In addition, OP asked that no one be snarky and drop a "PIF" line. I know he did becuase it was me.

[longtimelurker]

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@toi34 wrote:

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YES...you are being judgemental and you definately don't know what you're talking about. Truth be told, people can do whatever they want with their credit -- operative word(s) THEIR CREDIT, and thus it is none of your business. If you're not going to stay positive, as per the decorum policy, then stay off.

On another note, in order for one to build credit, he/she needs to demonstrate good payment activity over time; in order to do that one would need to carry balances and pay them off responsibly OVER TIME....get it???

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Posting on the forum means of course people will provide comments, if it really is your credit, no need to ask questions unless you want input.

But on the bolded bit, completely disagree.   A credit card extends credit between the purchase date and the due date.  You build a good history by meeting the terms of the agreement, whether paying the minimum by the due date or paying in full.  So while there are certainly reasons why paying in full may not be possible, helping your credit record is NOT a reason not to!

[toi34]

@ longtimelurjer
Wrong again....
One cannot build credit and thus Fico points if Fico's algorithms assume you never use your credit. Do your research.