General Credit Topics

[cjg2620747]

Hi all,

Ive been reading the forums for a while and find the information here very informative.  I wish I would have known about it sooner

... I am trying to increase my score. Im trying to figure out how I can best allocate my tax refund so that I can get the most increase on my FICO.  I have one Cap. 1 card at $1560 @ %14, another Citipass at $2800 @ %30 and another Chase at $4500 %30 (those rates are really hurting, and Chase told me that the particular card WONT report a credit limit to the CRA - is that illegal ?) ....

Obviously the smarter choice would be the Chase, since its eating me up in interest (can anybody also tell me the legal amounts of interest that can be charged ?), but I just wanted to get some expert opinions here ....

Should I pay off Cap. 1 and apply the rest to Chase or cut Chase in half ?

Thanxs so much,

Carlos

[HappyDays]

If all you want is to raise your scores then PIF as many of the CCs as you can.   If you want to save money then pay the highest intrest CC.   If you pay the high int. then take the money that you save and apply it to the other CCs.

[brother7]

If you're not planning to app for a loan or CC anytime soon, I think your focus should be on saving money and preserving capital, not on raising your credit score.  Therefore, I suggest allocating your tax refund as follows:

• pay the minimum on all 3 cards
• with the remainder of the refund, divide it between the Citipass and Chase accounts
• if the remainder is enough to pay Citipass off completely, I'd suggest doing that, then locking the card away (unused) until your credit is under control

Every dollar used to pay against the 30% APR cards is effectively earning you 30%.  In today's economy, you'd be hard pressed to do better than that.

[cjg2620747]

Thanxs for the advice guys !

[vawt]

How big is the tax refund?  Is it enough to pay off one of the 30% interest rate cards?  If so, do that and then focus on paying off the other while paying the minimum on the CapOne card. 

I would agree with others that it makes the most sense to save yourself money here, the fico score gain for paying off the smallest card in full is only a few points.  I'd rather save $$$.

There are some cards that do not report a limit to bureaus (mostly AMEX I think).  I don't have one, so I can't speak from experience, but I think it sometimes uses your highest reported balance for the limit.  Someone else can probably verify or correct me there.