What UTIL is too high?

[Anonymous]

What UTIL percentage (30%, 50%, etc.) is considered too high to get a new CC account? I have one CC with 55% UTIL and expect to get it below 50% in the next 2 months.

What CC issuers are most/least sensitive to UTIL?

[Anonymous]

From my own experience helping others with high util find credit, I can say Cap 1 and Citi are more sensitive to util and will reject for that reason than lets say HSBC.

[jackg]

JD,

As you know when you app for a new CC the creditor can do hard pulls of your credit reports from all 3 CRA's if that's their process, but most will do only 1 pull.

Each CRA uses a different algorythym supplied thru FICO that has its own characteristics, and places higher priorities on different aspects of your credit report. TU, for example uses the FICO Classic scoring model.  What I'm saying is that your question cannot be answered with any degree of certainty because no 2 credit reports are identical and there are too many scoring factors.

I can say that, generally speaking, the conventional wisdom says that % of utilization should range from 1% to 9% to gain the optimum number of points in this scoring segment which makes up 30% of your FICO score but it's not the only thing considered in this segment.

CC issuers today are very sensitive to high utilization due to current unemployment and overall economic conditions. The question you pose seems simple but the answer is not.

[Anonymous]

I haven't gotten my most recent FICO scores yet, but my FAKO scores (about a month ago) were as follows:

EX: 695

EQ: 723

TU: 730

These were in the same range (or slightly lower) than when I applied for a mortgage 4 years ago. My UTIL is actually lower now (55-60% vs. 80-85%) than it was at the time of the mortgage; however, I did add one account (a personal loan) in 12/2008.

No baddies on any of my CRs but the revolving UTIL is probably the worst thing on my report. I'm not in a big hurry, but I'd like to add a credit union VISA and a MasterCard account to diversify my CC portfolio. One lender I approached for the personal loan denied my app because I only had one CC account. Also, having a couple other CC accounts would give me some peace of mind in case my current CC issuer starts doing widespread AA (they haven't as of yet).

Thanks,

JD

[creditwherecreditisdue]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I haven't gotten my most recent FICO scores yet, but my FAKO scores (about a month ago) were as follows:

EX: 695

EQ: 723

TU: 730

These were in the same range (or slightly lower) than when I applied for a mortgage 4 years ago. My UTIL is actually lower now (55-60% vs. 80-85%) than it was at the time of the mortgage; however, I did add one account (a personal loan) in 12/2008.

No baddies on any of my CRs but the revolving UTIL is probably the worst thing on my report. I'm not in a big hurry, but I'd like to add a credit union VISA and a MasterCard account to diversify my CC portfolio. One lender I approached for the personal loan denied my app because I only had one CC account. Also, having a couple other CC accounts would give me some peace of mind in case my current CC issuer starts doing widespread AA (they haven't as of yet).

Thanks,

JD

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I would try a CU and make that first app count. If an issuer see an combination of high UTIL, multiple INQ's and no new accounts they are not going to like it. Personally I would not app until the total UTIL is under 30%

Message Edited by creditwherecreditisdue on 08-12-2009 03:49 AM

[llecs]

I went on a mini app spree and was denied due, in part, to utilization at 18% by Penfed and Citi. However, with the same util I was approved for Amex Green and Discover More. YMMV as others mentioned.