Have you had high cc usage for a planned expense that lowered your FICO scores?

[GoldSorata]

Have you gotten all the CLIs you can out of your current cards? That can help with padding the utilization. Plus, once your utilization rises and stays that way for a little bit, chances of getting any CLIs then will be really tough.

[Anonymous]

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@GoldSorata wrote:

Have you gotten all the CLIs you can out of your current cards? That can help with padding the utilization. Plus, once your utilization rises and stays that way for a little bit, chances of getting any CLIs then will be really tough.

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That depends on total CL's.  I had 4 reporting a 3/4k balance and still app'd for a few other cards with np.  

[GoldSorata]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@GoldSorata wrote:

Have you gotten all the CLIs you can out of your current cards? That can help with padding the utilization. Plus, once your utilization rises and stays that way for a little bit, chances of getting any CLIs then will be really tough.

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That depends on total CL's.  I had 4 reporting a 3/4k balance and still app'd for a few other cards with np.  

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Oh I know, but that's why I bring it up, sounds like a large spend and depending on total CL across all lines, some padding could help.

[Anonymous]

Thank you both for giving me more to think about before I spend!

[takeshi74]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Have you had high cc usage for a planned expense that lowered your FICO scores?

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I don't recall but I have been up to 76% recently.  However, the balance was immediately paid off.  I don't recall if reported or not.  The impact didn't really matter since it was going to be paid off immediately.

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@Anonymous wrote:

Oh, and what is considered 100% usage?

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Utilization is balance/limit.  If the balance equals the limit it's 100%.

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@Anonymous wrote:

How close to the limit can I go?

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Depending on the card you may be able to exceed the limit.  However, such cards would require that you immediately pay any balance exceeding the limit.  For scoring purposes it is recommended to not exceed 30%.  However, short term high utilization generally isn't an issue.  It's prolonged high utilization that can get you into trouble.  Be aware that there is a double hit from having high utilization on a card and having itmaxed out (generally >90%).

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@Anonymous wrote:

I know the charges to my cc will be way over the ideal limit until I pay it(them) down,

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How long will that take?  What utilization would you be at initially?  How long would it take to get it down to 50%?  Under 30%?

[Anonymous]

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@takeshi74 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Have you had high cc usage for a planned expense that lowered your FICO scores?

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I don't recall but I have been up to 76% recently.  However, the balance was immediately paid off.  I don't recall if reported or not.  The impact didn't really matter since it was going to be paid off immediately.

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@Anonymous wrote:

Oh, and what is considered 100% usage?

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Utilization is balance/limit.  If the balance equals the limit it's 100%.

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@Anonymous wrote:

How close to the limit can I go?

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Depending on the card you may be able to exceed the limit.  For scoring purposes it is recommended to not exceed 30%.  However, short term high utilization generally isn't an issue.  It's prolonged high utilization that can get you into trouble.  Be aware that there is a double hit from having high utilization on a card and having itmaxed out (generally >90%).

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Thank you!

[Gunnar419]

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@Anonymous wrote:

In a week or so I am initiating some home improvements and repairs. I know the charges to my cc will be way over the ideal limit until I pay it(them) down, but I now have zero interest on several cards so now is the time to do it. Has someone done this and seen their credit scores sink to the bottom of the barrel? I am thinking I should just not look at scores while I am doing these necessary things and just continue paying down the balances until my credit scores recover. How badly did your credit take a hit if you have done this? Was it worth it to you? (I only just got these scores in the last weeks due to utilization and new accounts.)

Oh, and what is considered 100% usage? How close to the limit can I go?

Thank you for any responses.

In my wallet: Venture 15k; Barclay Ring 12.5k; Discover 10k; CareCredit 7.7k; Amazon Store Card 5k. QS 5k; Band of A Travel Rewards 3.5k; Bank of A Travel Rewards 3.5k; Bank of A Platinum Visa 2k; Barclay Apple Rewards 2k. Total Credit: 66,200. 7/2-FICO: EQ - 788; TU - 777; EX - 690; Utilization: 12%; GOAL: 780 across the board then 800 across the board. Inquiries: EQ: 5 TU: 7; EX 3; Chapter 13 seven years May, 2015. Reset my garden date to 6/27. Gardening until further notice.

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I did something like this two years ago. I ran one card into the 65-70% range and carried smaller but still significant balances on a couple of others for about six months.

It lowered my score (temporarily of course) by about 50 points, from high 700s to low 700s but never caused any real problem. Padding the cards by getting CLIs before running them up certainly helps. It helps even more after you pay off the debt. With more available credit, my scores are now higher than they ever were.

[Anonymous]

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@Gunnar419 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

In a week or so I am initiating some home improvements and repairs. I know the charges to my cc will be way over the ideal limit until I pay it(them) down, but I now have zero interest on several cards so now is the time to do it. Has someone done this and seen their credit scores sink to the bottom of the barrel? I am thinking I should just not look at scores while I am doing these necessary things and just continue paying down the balances until my credit scores recover. How badly did your credit take a hit if you have done this? Was it worth it to you? (I only just got these scores in the last weeks due to utilization and new accounts.)

Oh, and what is considered 100% usage? How close to the limit can I go?

Thank you for any responses.

In my wallet: Venture 15k; Barclay Ring 12.5k; Discover 10k; CareCredit 7.7k; Amazon Store Card 5k. QS 5k; Band of A Travel Rewards 3.5k; Bank of A Travel Rewards 3.5k; Bank of A Platinum Visa 2k; Barclay Apple Rewards 2k. Total Credit: 66,200. 7/2-FICO: EQ - 788; TU - 777; EX - 690; Utilization: 12%; GOAL: 780 across the board then 800 across the board. Inquiries: EQ: 5 TU: 7; EX 3; Chapter 13 seven years May, 2015. Reset my garden date to 6/27. Gardening until further notice.

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I did something like this two years ago. I ran one card into the 65-70% range and carried smaller but still significant balances on a couple of others for about six months.

It lowered my score (temporarily of course) by about 50 points, from high 700s to low 700s but never caused any real problem. Padding the cards by getting CLIs before running them up certainly helps. It helps even more after you pay off the debt. With more available credit, my scores are now higher than they ever were.

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Good information! Thanks!