Credit Cards

[Ausfarm]

Has anyone out there transferred a balance to decrease their utilization on an individual card and, as a result, experience a FICO score increase?  If so, please share what you did and the approx FICO score increase you received.  Thanks!

[Creditaddict]

I use to play the balance transfer game all the time. I would see huge increases in my score when the last balance reported paid off and before the new balance showed up on the new card.  Not sure how they all settled once everything was reporting, but I think it helps!

[TheCynicalOne]

It's definitely a temporary score booster...but don't play the game too much.  Companies are getting wise to this and they can see the balances getting transferred around and eventually the BT offers will dry up.

[haulingthescoreup]

It all depends on what your CL on the new card is. If you can transfer enough off the maxed card to get it under 50%, and still be under 50% on the new card, you ought to see some improvement.

After that, it's pay-down time!

[Ausfarm]

Hauling, that's what I'm doing.  I'm basically transferring a $2800 balance from one card w/ a $3500 CL to a cc w/ a $12000 CL.  That's all the cc debt that I have.  Right now, I'm trying to pay-off an installment loan with a horrible interest rate (worst than any cc I have).  If I can put this cc debt on a card w/ 0% for a year, then I pay down the loan from h@!!.  It's all the cc debt I have.

Message Edited by Ausfarm on 11-10-2007 08:40 AM

[netpanther]

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Ausfarm wrote:

Hauling, that's what I'm doing.  I'm basically transferring a $2800 balance from one card w/ a $3500 CL to a cc w/ a $12000 CL.  That's all the cc debt that I have.  Right now, I'm trying to pay-off an installment loan with a horrible interest rate (worst than any cc I have).  If I can put this cc debt on a card w/ 0% for a year, then I pay down the loan from h@!!.  It's all the cc debt I have.

Message Edited by Ausfarm on 11-10-2007 08:40 AM

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Just keep that promise to yourself that you will pay it down.

[haulingthescoreup]

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Ausfarm wrote:

Hauling, that's what I'm doing. I'm basically transferring a $2800 balance from one card w/ a $3500 CL to a cc w/ a $12000 CL. That's all the cc debt that I have. Right now, I'm trying to pay-off an installment loan with a horrible interest rate (worst than any cc I have). If I can put this cc debt on a card w/ 0% for a year, then I pay down the loan from h@!!. It's all the cc debt I have.

Message Edited by Ausfarm on 11-10-2007 08:40 AM

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Sounds like a plan. Nice work getting a $12K 0% BT card. That puppy's gold!

NP, I hear ya. DH did a balance transfer from his Disc to a new BofA at 0%, and the pay-back schedule is running behind. It's amazing how easily that happens... The 0% expires in March, and I think my first 5 take-homes of 2008 will go to BofA. (We haven't yet got the yours - mine - ours thing perfected with the joint account and paychecks, as you can see!)

[netpanther]

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haulingthescoreup wrote:

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Ausfarm wrote:

Hauling, that's what I'm doing. I'm basically transferring a $2800 balance from one card w/ a $3500 CL to a cc w/ a $12000 CL. That's all the cc debt that I have. Right now, I'm trying to pay-off an installment loan with a horrible interest rate (worst than any cc I have). If I can put this cc debt on a card w/ 0% for a year, then I pay down the loan from h@!!. It's all the cc debt I have.

Message Edited by Ausfarm on 11-10-2007 08:40 AM

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Sounds like a plan. Nice work getting a $12K 0% BT card. That puppy's gold!

NP, I hear ya. DH did a balance transfer from his Disc to a new BofA at 0%, and the pay-back schedule is running behind. It's amazing how easily that happens... The 0% expires in March, and I think my first 5 take-homes of 2008 will go to BofA. (We haven't yet got the yours - mine - ours thing perfected with the joint account and paychecks, as you can see!)

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Yep- that's why you have to dig in your heels and just stay focused on the goal. After our arm (long story about how DH was talked into it) was about to go sky high on our equity loan we just refi'd it- I did the calculations and basically we didn't make a dent in it for two years. Now that I have it down to a decent rate and a small LOC I have been watching it like a hawk. DH made the mistake a couple weeks ago of borrowing 900 against the line of credit and when I found out cuz the payment was off by 35.00 I flipped out!!

I always try to keep in mind that Suze Orman says- "Besides your mortgage and student loans, if you cannot pay off everything you owe right now you are IN DEBT."

Now I know some would disagree, but those zero percents for a year can really get some people in trouble. Right now I am foaming at the mouth to pay off 650 on my Amex and 150 on my Disc and approx 200 on my Freedom. And then they are going in "the book/aka sock drawer" till next summer.

I have worked too hard to start oweing money and worrying about it again. The new zero percenters w/ the gread CL's are ready to be put to beddie bye.

[Ausfarm]

I agree, it's hard not to get trapped in the vicious cycle of cc debt.  However, I've relatively good about paying down my cc debt.  A year ago, I was $8k in cc debt.  

Of course, the ccc don't help.  When I called to do the BT to the 12000 cc, they kept offering to put some cash in my check account.  It was hard to resist, but I did.