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I had a Chase card that carried a $4360 balance. I wrote a check today for the total amount. Was that the right thing to do? This is the only card I have (others are open, but I don't use). Should I use it monthly as long as I PIF each month? I have two stupid medical collections ($27 and $54) and will be using the HIPPA letters ASAP.
I currently have a mortgage (144k), car (21k) , equity line (19k) and student loan (9k). The mortgage is being covered by my tenants, so I don't have that monthly mortgage payment right now. All other bills are paid electronically and are never late.
I had a 760 2 years ago....I would like to get to 700 as quickly as possible. ADVICE???
2/02/09 TU-635, EQ-634
3/09/09 TU-636, EQ-635
Congrats on paying that off! I have a similar balance on a Chase card, but don't have the means to pay off in full just yet.
Anyway, you should keep around a 7% utilization on two cards, to show that you're still active, and thus, a viable asset to credit card companies.
Not sure where that 7% util is coming from, there is no magic number.
IMO, let one of your cards report a small balance, $5 or so, but less than 9% for sure, and pay the rest in full every month. Try to use each card every 4-6 weeks at least, in order to keep them active.
7% on two cards? Well, I was an idiot and closed all of my credit cards at once. I got a little freaked out with all of the revolving credit and the guy I got my car loan through acted like it was a good idea. OYE...the Chase card is the only one that I consider usable. The other is a $6500 empire carpet and a 3500 Lowes. Oh what to do..what to do.
But THANKS for the congrats. I have to admit, I used my whole tax refund ;-)
As much as I hate advising anyone to apply for new credit cards I think it might not be a bad idea for you to wait for a score bump from the paid off Chase card and then app for one good, prime card.
Right now with the craziness of CLD and rate jacking I just wouldn't want to have all my credit in one basket. Pretty sure the carpet card and Lowes aren't something you could use everyday.
If you could re-open a card that you have a good relationship and some history with that would be even better. Not usually a good idea to close your cards no matter what the car dealer told you.
I base my target suggestion of 7-10% utilization from the percentage of FICO scores at the top of the FICO range. I agree, there is no magic number, but setting a good one doesn't hurt.
I agree with the poster suggesting to open a new card or to contact one of the companies you have a good relationship with, to see if you can re-open an older account. I wouldn't recommend closing a card to anyone who has any amount of self control, and it seems like if a car salesman can talk you into doing something drastic with your credit, you have more than enough potential to control your own credit.
Good luck!
HelpMyScoreNow wrote:
Its just scary when you walk around with thousands of dollars of revolving credit and they just sit there with zero balances.