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Hello Fico Forum,
I am looking to raise my credit score to buy a car within 12 months. My score is being held down due to my high credit utilization which is around 90% overall. I have $11,000 to pay on credit cards and was wondering which accounts I should apply it to. I was thinking about paying off the smaller credit cards to consolidate the debt down to fewer accounts, but it sounds like my score would be better if I lower all accounts a certain percentage. My accounts are below. I have 0 late payments and no baddies showing on my credit report. After I pay these down, can someone also recommend a good balance transfer card, to reduce interest on the remaining balances. Let me know what you think.
Current scores
EX from Amex - 647
TU from Discover - 649
Credit Card - Limit - Balance
US Bank Flex Perks - $4500 - $4500
Chase Freedom - $3500 - $3450
Chase Amazon - $2000 - $1950
Citi Double Cash - $1700 - $1600
Bank Of America Cash Rewards - $3500 - $3500
Amex BCE - $1000 - $950
Discover - $1000 - $1000
Target - $300 - $250
Best Buy Visa - $300 - $300
Kohls - $800 - $750
Home Depot - $500 - $225
Amazon storecard - $3000 - $2500
VCF - $3000 - $1200
Discount Tire - $1000 - $500
Total - $26,100 - $22,675
Are you open to doing a consolidation loan? I had $14K to pay off, so I got a loan thru Lending Club. I paid everything off or way down (paid on Dec 15), and by the next month my score had jumped 50+ points. My equifax is as of today a 730 (per creditkarma). In November it was a 638, and in December it was a 640. My TU was a 648 in December, and it went to a 698. May be something to check into!
@Anonymous wrote:Hello Fico Forum,
I am looking to raise my credit score to buy a car within 12 months. My score is being held down due to my high credit utilization which is around 90% overall. I have $11,000 to pay on credit cards and was wondering which accounts I should apply it to. I was thinking about paying off the smaller credit cards to consolidate the debt down to fewer accounts, but it sounds like my score would be better if I lower all accounts a certain percentage. My accounts are below. I have 0 late payments and no baddies showing on my credit report. After I pay these down, can someone also recommend a good balance transfer card, to reduce interest on the remaining balances. Let me know what you think.
Current scores
EX from Amex - 647
TU from Discover - 649
Credit Card - Limit - Balance
US Bank Flex Perks - $4500 - $4500
Chase Freedom - $3500 - $3450
Chase Amazon - $2000 - $1950
Citi Double Cash - $1700 - $1600
Bank Of America Cash Rewards - $3500 - $3500
Amex BCE - $1000 - $950
Discover - $1000 - $1000
Target - $300 - $250
Best Buy Visa - $300 - $300
Kohls - $800 - $750
Home Depot - $500 - $225
Amazon storecard - $3000 - $2500
VCF - $3000 - $1200
Discount Tire - $1000 - $500
Total - $26,100 - $22,675
Pay the 8 smallest balances down to $0. Pay the other 6 down to just under 60% individual UTI. Under 50% would probably be better, but $11k is not quite enough to do that, however you may be able to get to there in just a few months, depending on how much you can throw at it monthly.