consolidating credit card balances

[Anonymous]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

---

@Anonymous wrote:

Good idea about speaking with bank to remove late reports. I do and will have a long relationship with them, and the situation with my wife is most probably documented as it was the reason for late payment and seeking the modification in the first place. Thanks for the input!

---

BBS is a great guy and very knowledgable about derog removal, especially via the strategy called Good Will Letters.  I know very little about all that but he knows a lot.  I encourage you to huddle with him and strategize.

---

Thanks for the kind words, CGID!

norseman1, out of curiosity, how far along into your mortgage are you?  I had a total of 7 late payments on my mortgage which I was about 7 years into and was able to get all 7 removed through 3 "rounds" of GW letters.  One round removed 2, another 3 and another 2.  The best case scenario would be if you're about half way into your mortgage as you've not only established a long relationship already, but you also have an equally (relatively) long relationship in the future throughout the duration of your loan.  In your mortgage GW letters you want to reference your excellent payment history for X years leading up to your hiccup and how you look forward to a continued great relationship with them for Y years (whatever is left) when you'll continue to exhibit flawless payment history.  I've received GW adjustments to multiple accounts and from my experience getting them done with a mortgage lender is by far the easiest.  If you'd like some additional info shoot me a PM, or if you check out the rebuilding forum you can find a ton of information there on GW letters and late payment removal.

[NRB525]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

Again, thanks for the response. Credit card 1- bal. $1944.00  limit $4000.00  Credit card 2- bal. $1500.00  limit $3200.00  Gas card 1- bal. $70.00  limit $700.00  Gas card 2- bal. $0  limit  $400.00 ... Reading that FICO window simulation it says that if I get a new card with a $7000.00 limit and consolidate my scores will shoot up.

---

What bank and brand name are these cards? How does the bank marketing refer to the cards you have?

[SouthJamaica]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

Again, thanks for the response. Credit card 1- bal. $1944.00  limit $4000.00  Credit card 2- bal. $1500.00  limit $3200.00  Gas card 1- bal. $70.00  limit $700.00  Gas card 2- bal. $0  limit  $400.00 ... Reading that FICO window simulation it says that if I get a new card with a $7000.00 limit and consolidate my scores will shoot up.

---

1. Forget about the simulator. It's meaningless. Sometimes it means something, sometimes not. Please forget about it.

2. Applying for new credit either has no effect on your score or reduces it, so don't bother doing that in order to improve your score because it won't work that way.

3. Pay your cards down to zero balance reporting in the statement, except let one card report a small balance when the statement cuts.

4. Pay your installment loans down as fast as possible, but not to zero unless you're required to pay them down to zero. When your overall installment loan utilization is less than 10% of the total face amount of the installment loans, some of your scores will get a healthy boost.

5. Send in verification letters or dispute letters to the bureaus, to try and get rid of the negative; that's a drag on your score.

[Anonymous]

Makes a lot of sense...Thanks!

[Anonymous]

To BBS, will try the GW letter with bank. Am almost 9 years into mortgage and planning to stay in the house so it makes sense that they might be willing to remove the negative from my report. Also, think the best thing to do is simply pay down my balances and see how things go. Am not in any rush for this but simply looking for ways to boost score so it's good should I need it. Thanks to you and to all who took an interest. Have a great New Years!!

[NRB525]

---

@NRB525 wrote:

---

@Anonymous wrote:

Again, thanks for the response. Credit card 1- bal. $1944.00  limit $4000.00  Credit card 2- bal. $1500.00  limit $3200.00  Gas card 1- bal. $70.00  limit $700.00  Gas card 2- bal. $0  limit  $400.00 ... Reading that FICO window simulation it says that if I get a new card with a $7000.00 limit and consolidate my scores will shoot up.

---

What bank and brand name are these cards? How does the bank marketing refer to the cards you have?

---

Bump.

The reason for asking is, depending on the bank and card, there may be ways to easily increase the available credit without a HP or new account.

[Anonymous]

---

@SouthJamaica wrote:

---

@Anonymous wrote:

Again, thanks for the response. Credit card 1- bal. $1944.00  limit $4000.00  Credit card 2- bal. $1500.00  limit $3200.00  Gas card 1- bal. $70.00  limit $700.00  Gas card 2- bal. $0  limit  $400.00 ... Reading that FICO window simulation it says that if I get a new card with a $7000.00 limit and consolidate my scores will shoot up.

---

1. Forget about the simulator. It's meaningless. Sometimes it means something, sometimes not. Please forget about it.

2. Applying for new credit either has no effect on your score or reduces it, so don't bother doing that in order to improve your score because it won't work that way.

3. Pay your cards down to zero balance reporting in the statement, except let one card report a small balance when the statement cuts.

4. Pay your installment loans down as fast as possible, but not to zero unless you're required to pay them down to zero. When your overall installment loan utilization is less than 10% of the total face amount of the installment loans, some of your scores will get a healthy boost.

5. Send in verification letters or dispute letters to the bureaus, to try and get rid of the negative; that's a drag on your score.

---

Not sure I agree with number 2 on your list.

If the OP did get a good BT card with a very decent SL, it would reduce the OP's utilization thus increasing the score. Plus the OP would not pay interest as long as it's completely paid by BT equation date.

OP, find a good BT card and transfer. Just do not max out the new card doing the BT.

[Anonymous]

OP, what are your FICO scores?

Maybe the OP can't pay them off like some have suggested. Stick with the question the OP asked.

Definitely follow the advice brutal is giving about the lates!

[Anonymous]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

OP, what are your FICO scores?

Maybe the OP can't pay them off like some have suggested. Stick with the question the OP asked.

Definitely follow the advice brutal is giving about the lates!

---

Hey Donny.  Good response. 

I agree about the importance of making sure that any OP is having his original question(s) answered.  For what it is worth, I did address the idea of why the simulator might (correctly) say that getting a 5th card with a big credit limit and transfering the debt would help his score.  I was also honest about my reservations about that, in terms of good financial management -- but I was also honest in admitting that the simulator's advice would work and also (more importantly) why it would work.