Just made a huge mistake on newly opened cc

[glendazamot]

Just opened this secured cc to help with credit but used card more than I was suppose to paid it the same day the statement closed but still they reported this high balance. Is the high balance going to stay there forever even if I paid to 0 and only charge small amt and pay off monthly? Also my score went down 5 pts because of it. How can I fix this??? This newbe really needs help raising credit score, anyone?
Account Name CAP ONE
Account # xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Account Type Credit Card
Balance $181.00
Date Opened 8/1/2012
Account Status Open
Mo. Payment $25.00
Past Due
Payment Status Current
High Balance $181.00
Limit $200.00
Terms Revolving
Comments

[jamesdwi]

High balance stays, but not sure how long, but its not the high balance that killed your score, the balance did plus the card reported with 90% of the CL balance, so the card is showing maxed out, but the good news is that the FICO score is a point in time score, next month when the card reports again, it will report the new balance, hopefully you will get it down to a non-maxed out level or even zero and your score will come back up. Unless you are being manually reviewed, high balance isn't even noticed. If anyone asks about it on a recon, say I used the card for a large purchase and paid it off. 

[OptimasPrime]

The good news is that utilization is recalculated after each statement so the negative effect on your score will be temporary.  Just make sure that you pay down the balance to less than $20 before the next statement closing date and your scores will rebound edit to add- the high balance of 181 will stay on your reports but will not impact your scores. I think that the only way it could really hurt you is if someone sees it on a manual review, as mentioned above

[glendazamot]

Ok thanks so much for the quick replies, will make sure to keep it at a 0 balance. It's a relief to know that it will affect me temporarily.

[Anonymous]

The high balance is pretty much completely irrelevant.  The high current balance is going to hurt, but only temporary since utilization has no memory.  Unless you are going to be applying for credit within the next month, there's no need to worry about what balance is reported.

[OptimasPrime]

Definitely do not apply for credit within the next month, but you will be okay to do so after your  next statement. 

Also, letting a small balance (0-9%) report on one card with a 0 balance reporting on all other cards is the best way to maximize your scores. Having a zero balance across all cards is looked at less favorably than letting one card report a small balance.

As mentioned by another poster though, this is really only important to do when you are.planning on applying for new credit