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NEED ADVICE ON PAYING DOWN CREDIT CARDS- make big payments or lots of small ones??

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Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: NEED ADVICE ON PAYING DOWN CREDIT CARDS- make big payments or lots of small ones??

Thanks for the help - now I have a new problem. It looks like the cards that I originally closed and tried to reopen pulled my credit report when I tried to open them back up. I think they lowered our scores more, and to top it off I think the accounts are still closed and they have the highest debt?? If I pay them down - they are not going to help my utility - what do I do??
Message 21 of 32
marty56
Super Contributor

Re: NEED ADVICE ON PAYING DOWN CREDIT CARDS- make big payments or lots of small ones??

CC accounts that are closed have the same effect on util as those that are open so paying them down will help you.  I suspect your score went down when you asked for closed accounts to be opened since the CCC probably did a hard INQ on you.  I still feel that paying the account off as possible is the best way to go.  After it has a zero balance, you can make charges on it as long as you PIF or at least keep the util below 10% to get the account aging.  You also might get a CLI after you PIF.  Sams raised my limit from 2200 to 3100 when I paid the card down to $134.  You get a double effect here of less util and higher CL both of which help yourt score.
 
I myself would never open a CC account that I closed or was closed by the CCC.  There are pleanty of places to get the credit you need.  Sorta like getting back togther with the EX or going back to an old job that you quit for a good reason. 
1/25/2021: FICO 850 EQ 848 TU 847 EX
Message 22 of 32
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: NEED ADVICE ON PAYING DOWN CREDIT CARDS- make big payments or lots of small ones??

From my understanding - I thought that if you close the account - pay some down - the utility doesn't count on that card because the card is closed and the available credit isn't really there. From what you are saying it still counts. Is this really true - please explain?? Because the cards that I closed have the highest CL, interest and balance due on them. I need to pay a lot more on these cards than the cards that are open. And unfortunately they are all pretty much maxed out and we don't have enough to pay all of them in full. Getting the increased CL is what got us in this mess in the first place - I had a really good job -and I quit after my son was born and we just continued to live like we always did and now we are paying the price. So we need to pay this stuff of and we need to raise our scores to get a better home equity loan. More input please.
Message 23 of 32
marty56
Super Contributor

Re: NEED ADVICE ON PAYING DOWN CREDIT CARDS- make big payments or lots of small ones??

If you look at the Credit At a Glance section of your FICO report summary, it lists the total revolving account balances.  This includes both open and closed accounts that have a credit balance.
 
 
 I dont know if closed accounts count as part of your available credit but if you maxed out every card and then closed the accounts, do you think that your utilization would be 0 and it would have no affect on your FICO score?
 
The best way to check this is to pull up your MYFico CR and look at the Score Simulator and see what your total outstanding CR balances are and see if it adds up.  All my closed accounts now have a 0 balance so I cant check mine.


Message Edited by marty56 on 01-26-2008 10:05 AM
1/25/2021: FICO 850 EQ 848 TU 847 EX
Message 24 of 32
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: NEED ADVICE ON PAYING DOWN CREDIT CARDS- make big payments or lots of small ones??

I haven't signed up for the FICO credit reports yet. I guess I should do that now to see where I am. Somebody else on here was telling me if you have closed accounts and you pay on them the positive utility doesn't show up because you don't have that available credit on those accounts - I may have misunderstood, but not sure - that is why I am trying to get more feedback. Does that make sense?
Message 25 of 32
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: NEED ADVICE ON PAYING DOWN CREDIT CARDS- make big payments or lots of small ones??

Closed accounts will raise your overall utilization %, as you are no longer receiving the benefit from the credit limit on that card(s). But your payment history remains for 7 years.

Never close a cc that has a balance. That can hurt you.
Message 26 of 32
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: NEED ADVICE ON PAYING DOWN CREDIT CARDS- make big payments or lots of small ones??

I learned that the hard way. I wish I would have found this forum before I did anything. Just goes to show you - don't believe everything you hear - even if it is from a bank. So now I am just gong to try and pay what I can and go from there.
Message 27 of 32
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: NEED ADVICE ON PAYING DOWN CREDIT CARDS- make big payments or lots of small ones??

Your FICO score is a result of how well you manage your credit (among other things). You need to first learn how to manage your credit wisely. There is a plethora of information on this board and services on this site that will give you all the information you need.

RobertEG made an excellent point that I think more people should have made. CC's compound the interest DAILY. That means that every day, they take your balance and tally the interest you owe. At the end of the month, they add it all up, and add it to your balance. So, the smaller your balance EACH DAY, the less interest they can add up.

In your case, if you pay $2000 now and let another $2000 just sit in your bank account, you will still be accruing interest on that additional CC balance of $2000. That is costing you money! You don't want to do this. If you just pay all $4000 upfront, you are paying less interest. The only time, financially speaking, anyone could recommend splitting it up, would be if keeping that extra $2000 in the bank was making more interest than you would be paying. And that's rare when it comes to CC's.

This would be the bast scenario to manage your credit. And as you have found here, this is the best way to also improve your FICO. Plus, you won't have to worry about when the agencies report and if you got your second payment in. It won't matter, because you will have paid everything you could to that point and that's all you can do. Splitting up the payment is nothing but a headache that costs you more money.
Message 28 of 32
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: NEED ADVICE ON PAYING DOWN CREDIT CARDS- make big payments or lots of small ones??

I have explained this to my DH and he finally agreed with me. It's just a bummer that we closed those accounts. Do you think we should try to pay more on the open accounts to raise the utility instead of paying more on the closed accounts? I am recommending this website to everyone I know that has credit issues - I have found the best info here! I just wish I knew about this website before I closed those cards.
Message 29 of 32
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: NEED ADVICE ON PAYING DOWN CREDIT CARDS- make big payments or lots of small ones??

I am sure that someone will correct me if i'm wrong. But i'm pretty sure that your utility percentage includes your closed accounts already. Thus, it wouldn't matter who you send the money to, you just need to send it to someone.
Message 30 of 32
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