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Ok, I have question, I am planning to book our vacation with Carnival on my card, around $1200. So my question is, which would be the best way to do it, currently all my cards are paid to a zero balance.I have 4 cards, so should i put the entire amount on 1 card which will max the card out and leave the others at the zero balance. Or should i spread the cost across all the cards. Trying to have the least impact on my score as possible.
I have Capital one, barclay, and first premiere. Im planning on carrying the balance for a lil while. Planning on buying a new vehicle towards the end of the month so dont want to hurt my score to much.
@Anonymous wrote:I have Capital one, barclay, and first premiere. Im planning on carrying the balance for a lil while. Planning on buying a new vehicle towards the end of the month so dont want to hurt my score to much.
You don't want to go over 89% of your limit on one card or you will get hammered for maxing it out on FICO -- especially if you plan to buy a car later in the month. Not sure when your cruise is, but can you defer buying the ticket until after the car loan is done?
If putting this on one card would put you at 90% or more, I would split the charge between two cards. Just my opinion.
@Anonymous wrote:Ok, I have question, I am planning to book our vacation with Carnival on my card, around $1200. So my question is, which would be the best way to do it, currently all my cards are paid to a zero balance.I have 4 cards, so should i put the entire amount on 1 card which will max the card out and leave the others at the zero balance. Or should i spread the cost across all the cards. Trying to have the least impact on my score as possible.
Neither approach is optimal IMO.
I would probably use two cards, $1000 on the primary (higher CL) card - low enough to avoid max out ( 80% as a rule of thumb). The remaining $200 put any of your other cards that have a CL of ... say $400 or more.
Notes:
1) Best not to max out a credit card.
2) Best not to report a balance on all cards.
3) Best not to report a zero balance on all cards the same month.
4) You can always pay part/all of a balance before a statement post date to reduce amount reporting
Enjoy your vacation!