Worried about utilization....Advice please

[snowkitty]

Ok, I have been doing very well with my cards for the past year. I only run a balance on a few cards. I am going on vacation soon and I want to do a balance transfer with my Citi Diamond card to get some extra cash for vacation. Today is the last day I can do one on the 0% interest and I am talking about 500.00. I am worried though because I already have a balance with them of 3900.00 and my limit is 8000.00. I am so scared to go over that 50% mark but all of my other 0% interest cards are about to hit the mark where it goes to the normal interest rate. Here is what I have right now

Total lines of credit  58,050.00. (My visa signature is 5k and has not shown up yet so that total number may drop in a few days I guess)

I have a balance on 3 cards:

Sams Discover     600.00 balance - 3500.00 limit

Citi Diamond       3949.00 balance  -  8000.00 limit

Home Depot          250.00 balance  -  3000.00 limit

My total balances are 4799.00 out of 58050.00 which is about 8%  or  9% if the 5k on the Signature card does not count.

So, will I be ok adding another 500.00 balance to run? Is it really bad to have over 50% use on one card?

The only other option I have to get cash is by using my Discover card for transactions and the 0% interest runs out in December. Would it be any better or worse to add a balance on a 4th card or to have a over 50% balance on my citi card?

[manwoot]

Go ahead and do the balance transfer.  50% is nothing to be worried about, especially if you have a 0% BT offer.  That's what the card is for, after all.

[longtimelurker]

And are you planning on needing your credit score any time soon?   If not, don't worry about it, 50% utilization isn't going to trigger AA, and if you're not apping, the hit to your score doesn't matter.

[snowkitty]

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@longtimelurker wrote:

And are you planning on needing your credit score any time soon?   If not, don't worry about it, 50% utilization isn't going to trigger AA, and if you're not apping, the hit to your score doesn't matter.

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I will not be apping for anything but my 6 month cli with Amex will be coming up in Sept.

[09Lexie]

You'll be fine as long as you are not apping. Enjoy your vacay!

[snowkitty]

Thanks!!! Will it affect my next cli with amex in sept.?

[frugalQ]

Maybe you can turn your 6-month Amex plan into a 9-month Amex plan.

Just request the CLI after you've paid off the additional $500. The Amex Luv button will still be there.

:-)