HELP!!! CC utilization question.

[talktohoov]

I have 4 credit cards.

Capital one:  $1,000 limit, $625 balance

Capital one:  $3,000 limit, $2,579 balance

Credit one Bank:  $2,175 limit, $1,300 balance

Best Buy:  $1,800 limit, $1,500 balance

I would like to attack these as fast as I can to get the fastest boost possible.  Would it be best to pay off the small Cap 1 account or to get a couple below the 50% utilization limit?

[Sandman771]

I would get as many down below 50% as possible. Because there are some showing over 80% UTI and that could bump you to another "bucket" in the scoring model. I had the same thing a couple of months and when I got it below certain thresholds I saw increase in scores. I hope this helps. 

[Anonymous]

To answer your question, it would be better to get a couple below the 50% utilization.  Try to attack it as a method of reducing UTI percentage versus $ to lower outstanding balances:

Capital one:  $1,000 limit, $625 balance 62.5%

Capital one:  $3,000 limit, $2,579 balance 86.0%

Credit one Bank:  $2,175 limit, $1,300 balance 59.8%

Best Buy:  $1,800 limit, $1,500 balance 83.3%

While your first Cap1 has the lowest balance, it's actually only the second lowest UTI.  If you can get the second Cap1 and BB cards down under 80% to start, I think that might work the fastest for scoring purposes.  Good luck!

[talktohoov]

How many points do you think I could gain if I dropped them all to 50% right now?

How many points do you think I could gain if I dropped the two that are above 80% down to 50% only?

[HeavenOhio]

Trying to predict a point increase is a crapshoot. Known thresholds are at 8.9%, 28.9%, 48.9%, 68.9%, and 88.9% (maxed). But not all thresholds apply to all profiles. All we can say is that you'd be crossing two thresholds by bringing all of your balances down to 48.9% and that there's a good chance you'll see a gain. Thresholds that are pretty much guaranteed to show a score change are 8.9% and 88.9%.

Note that the thresholds apply to both overall utilization and individual card utilization. Individual card utilization is determined by the card with the highest utilization, which is why you'd want to bring them all below the threshold, in this case, 48.9% or lower.

[HeavenOhio]

I should add that bringing them down to 45% or so would be even better. That would hopefully cover interest that you're likely to be charged when the statement cuts.