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What Credit Cards should I pay off?

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Anonymous
Not applicable

What Credit Cards should I pay off?

Hello all!

I am new to this board and it appears to be a great resource to get some solid advise.

 

I am coming into some money ($18,000) in January and would like to take the best approach in paying off some Credit Cards. Both for Credit Score and peace of mind!

 

Here's my situation (listed by highest ARP):

 

Cap 1 (17.9%) - $575 balance ($5,000)

AMEX (17.24%) - $7,722 balance ($8,000 limit)

Discover (12.99%) - $6,118 balance ($7,200 limit)

Chase (12.24%) - $4,913 balance ($5,500 limit)

BOA (9.24%) - $9,927 balance ($11,100 limit)

Citi (6.24%) - $9,355 balance ($9,500)

 

 My thoughts are: Cap 1, AMEX and BOA....OR.....Cap 1, AMEX, Discover and Chase (most of)

 

Any input would be great!!

 

Message 1 of 22
21 REPLIES 21
creditnocash
Valued Contributor

Re: What Credit Cards should I pay off?


@Anonymous wrote:

Hello all!

I am new to this board and it appears to be a great resource to get some solid advise.

 

I am coming into some money ($18,000) in January and would like to take the best approach in paying off some Credit Cards. Both for Credit Score and peace of mind!

 

Here's my situation (listed by highest ARP):

 

Cap 1 (17.9%) - $575 balance ($5,000)

AMEX (17.24%) - $7,722 balance ($8,000 limit)

Discover (12.99%) - $6,118 balance ($7,200 limit)

Chase (12.24%) - $4,913 balance ($5,500 limit)

BOA (9.24%) - $9,927 balance ($11,100 limit)

Citi (6.24%) - $9,355 balance ($9,500)

 

 My thoughts are: Cap 1, AMEX and BOA....OR.....Cap 1, AMEX, Discover and Chase (most of)

 

Any input would be great!!

 


i would do the first. 

but then manage your cards better. 

after you pay off most of your balances you should see a gigantic score bump. in which id app for a cu credit card with a super high limit and bt for a 0% for x months for whatever you can. since you prob wont be coming into another 18k anytime soon. 



Current: Fico ScoresEQ~706 TU~719 EX 709 4/28/23

Inquiries (24 Months): EQ 0 TU 0 EX 0| Most Recent: A LONG WHILE
Over 12 Months:0


2023 Goals:
Buy A Home
Earn Cash Back

Amex Zync(Unicorn)
Chase Freedom$1500
Discover IT$7,400
Citi DC $10,000
Citizens Mastercard$7,000

Message 2 of 22
Repo-ed
Senior Contributor

Re: What Credit Cards should I pay off?

from highest apr to lowest apr
5/2012: 560 credit scores across the board
12/2014: 750+
3/2017: 780+
11/2019: 833
2/2023: Experian via Chase United Explorer CC pull - 891
Message 3 of 22
oogy
Contributor

Re: What Credit Cards should I pay off?

Personally, I would probably pay all of them down below about 70% so they're not so close to max limits.  Then I would put the rest towards paying down the highest interest cards.  If you've got to leave money sitting on there, it might as well be getting the lowest interest rate possible. 

 

 

On the other hand, you might want to skip the first step and just put the whole lump sum into paying down the highest interest balances.  I think the cards that have a really high percentage of utilization are an extra red flag on your credit score - but that may not be a huge concern if you're not applying for anything soon.  So avoiding the extra interest might be a higher priority.

Starting over from scratch again February 28, 2023.
I have not used a single credit account since circumstances decimated my credit in '19&'20 and now have no open accounts on my report.
Message 4 of 22
Wolf3
Senior Contributor

Re: What Credit Cards should I pay off?


@Repo-ed wrote:
from highest apr to lowest apr

+1.   More important to reduce interest payments to zero that worrying about credit score. 

Message 5 of 22
nicholasyud
Valued Contributor

Re: What Credit Cards should I pay off?

30k in debt man its a lot of interest to paid each months.

You paid totally 300 to 400 each month with a firm 15% APR.

That's crazy god........Please stay in shape and stop abuse those plastic. They worth for their purpose ( save money and rewards)

I hope your finance getting better in a near future.

Starting Score: 560
Current Score: ?
Goal Score: 800
Message 6 of 22
bluesnowman
Frequent Contributor

Re: What Credit Cards should I pay off?

Pay off the one with highest APR's first, that's a lot of interest to pay every month man. Or pay the smaller cards and apply the rest so at least some cards won't kill your Utilization. You've got a lot to pay off my friend...and stop abusing the plastic like Nick says, It'd take me like 3 years to pay off all that debt if it were me...

Bank of America: Cash Rewards.- 4.2k. 4/25/12 (CLI Increase 6/15/13, CLI May of 2015, sept 2015), Citi: Forward- 4.5k. 10/27/12 (CLI on 2/8/14, SP, CLI on 9/26/15 sp). Discover: More- 7k, 10/27/12 (Increase 6/1/14, CLI in May of 2015, SP 9/2015) Amex: PRG- NPSL (closed 12/13/13). 11/24/12. Chase: Freedom. 5/1/13- 5k (EX CLI HP 9/2015) Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus.-3.6k. 6/15/13. Amex BCE-2k. 12/7/13. Amex SPG-5k 12/8/13 (CLI on 9/2015) Capital one VentureOne Visa Signature-10k (9/6/15). Citi AAdvantage Platinum Select World MasterCard-4K. Last App: 9/6/15. Total cl: 45,300
Message 7 of 22
webhopper
Moderator Emeritus

Re: What Credit Cards should I pay off?

Hi! I recommend that you pay them off with the highest interest first.... then you can close some cards and limit yourself to one or two and hopefully do not get in that situation again. Best of luck!
FICO 9:
Filed Chapter 13 on 6/1/2017 after job loss. Discharged 6/1/2022.

Goal: Gardening!


Message 8 of 22
bs6054
Valued Contributor

Re: What Credit Cards should I pay off?


@nicholasyud wrote:

30k in debt man its a lot of interest to paid each months.

You paid totally 300 to 400 each month with a firm 15% APR.

That's crazy god........Please stay in shape and stop abuse those plastic. They worth for their purpose ( save money and rewards)

I hope your finance getting better in a near future.


Yes, so if you pay off the top 4 APR cards (well, most of the fourth) you are saving about $210 in interest, which you should use as an additional payment on the next highest APR card.

 

Of course, this only works if you don't add new balances to the paid-off cards.   If this is impossible, and the pattern looks bad (a series of nearly maxed out cards) then go to a real credit advice service and see what they can suggest

Message 9 of 22
distantarray
Established Contributor

Re: What Credit Cards should I pay off?


@Anonymous wrote:

Cap 1 (17.9%) - $575 balance ($5,000)

AMEX (17.24%) - $7,722 balance ($8,000 limit)

Discover (12.99%) - $6,118 balance ($7,200 limit)

Chase (12.24%) - $4,913 balance ($5,500 limit)

BOA (9.24%) - $9,927 balance ($11,100 limit)

Citi (6.24%) - $9,355 balance ($9,500)

 


imo,

1. Amex

2. Chase

3. Capital One

4. Citi

5. Discover

6. Bank of America

 

 

LOL but that'sjust me. because Amex HATES people carrying large balances, and Amex and Chase being the top two credit card companies in my opinion I wouldn't want to burn either one of them or make them lose faith =)

 

I could careless about Capital One or Bank of America personally since I don't think they offer anything that's of any value compared to the rest of them.

 

But generally the plan with the highest interest rates first would probably work best, I'm just a bit weird =)

 

So if you take that into consideration I would pay off

 

1. Capital One

2. Amex

3. Chase

4. Discover

5. Citi

6. Bank of America

 

 

It's not exactly highest APR to lowest, but considering the APR and how I rate the banks personally since Amex and Chase holds most of the best reward cards and sign up bonuses this would benefit you a lot in the future, so it's nice to keep a good history with them. The APR's shouldn't be so different to cause too much of a extra troubles.

 


total credit limits $108,400 Credit scores Ex 728 EQ 738 TU 758
Message 10 of 22
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