Does anyone know what the percentages are where you're hit for being maxed out on an individual card?
I'm trying to balance saving for a home down payment with paying down my credit cards to hike my credit score - ideally up to the 720 range. I cut down on my outstanding debt by a third last month, and now that its showing, I got one point to show for it from Transunion (compared to 25 from EQ), so I need to be much more efficient in raising my credit score.
I think the problem is that my two remaining cards with balances have high utility, and are getting the maxed out penalty.
I've got a 691 TU and had a 682 EX when last I could check it. My EQ is in the 660s for some reason, I can't find much of a difference between the reports, other than EQ has one or two more inquiries. I've heard they're harder on debt, though, so that could be it. I've got no late payments or other baddies. The lender I'll probably use uses the median score.
Chase: 0/6000
Bank of America AMEX: 5700 / 7200
Cap 1: 5200 / 7500
Value City Furniture: 0/3000
AMEX Student Card: 0/1400
Then a bunch of student loans (5 separate accounts) and a car loan. My AAoA is 2 years, my oldest card is the Amex for Students at 5 years.
I pulled TU today, which was accurate except it had Chase at $100 and an extra $500 on Cap 1. It was really disappointing to find that I gained one point in TU by paying off about $6000 in credit card debt last month. It wasespecially disappointing since my one "bad" rating -- amount of debt -- moved to "not good."
I didn't close any accounts or anything.
So, if anyone can think of anything else, I'd much appreciate it.
