topic Re: PIF Credit Cards In Which Order? in Personal Finance

PIF Credit Cards In Which Order?

CivalV — Thu, 18 Oct 2018 19:17:26 GMT

So I am finally able to pay down $2500 of CC debt. I would like some advice on what cards I should pay off first & how much if possible.

Should I pay $2500 of CC debt all this month or spread the debt payments over a span of 2-3 months?

CC debt is definitely holding back my scores. I am just not sure which way is the best way to go.

I have two cards with monthly/annual fees. They are FirstPremier cards $700 CL each. One charges $8 a month, the other $12 & both have annual fees of $96.

Here is my CC info

Re: PIF Credit Cards In Which Order?

Harvey26 — Thu, 18 Oct 2018 19:34:32 GMT

@CivalV wrote:
So I am finally able to pay down $2500 of CC debt. I would like some advice on what cards I should pay off first & how much if possible.

Should I pay $2500 of CC debt all this month or spread the debt payments over a span of 2-3 months?
CC debt is definitely holding back my scores. I am just not sure which way is the best way to go.

I have two cards with monthly/annual fees. They are FirstPremier cards $700 CL each. One charges $8 a month, the other $12 & both have annual fees of $96.

Here is my CC info

Personally I would pay all the small balances off first and then knock out the biggest one last because you can hit that one with the most money and then once you pay off that one i would combine capital ones and close those crappy first premier cards.

Re: PIF Credit Cards In Which Order?

Anonymous — Thu, 18 Oct 2018 19:56:18 GMT

It would be useful to see when your 0% promotions end. I would fully take advantage of that interest free time. I would also throw in monthly/annual fees into your spreadsheet to get a better look at what you’re really paying. It might be best to pay off those Premier one cards, close them down, then pay off a cap one and consolidate it with your other quicksilver.

Re: PIF Credit Cards In Which Order?

xaximus — Thu, 18 Oct 2018 20:14:07 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
It would be useful to see when your 0% promotions end. I would fully take advantage of that interest free time. I would also throw in monthly/annual fees into your spreadsheet to get a better look at what you’re really paying. It might be best to pay off those Premier one cards, close them down, then pay off a cap one and consolidate it with your other quicksilver.

+1. Second this. Pay off your small balances, combine your CLs and then target Cap1. Combine both QS and keep the QS, not the QS1. The QS is easier to PC compared to the QS1, plus the QS1 has an AF.

Re: PIF Credit Cards In Which Order?

Remedios — Thu, 18 Oct 2018 20:16:35 GMT

@CivalV wrote:
So I am finally able to pay down $2500 of CC debt. I would like some advice on what cards I should pay off first & how much if possible.

Should I pay $2500 of CC debt all this month or spread the debt payments over a span of 2-3 months?
CC debt is definitely holding back my scores. I am just not sure which way is the best way to go.

I have two cards with monthly/annual fees. They are FirstPremier cards $700 CL each. One charges $8 a month, the other $12 & both have annual fees of $96.

Here is my CC info

I would pay off both FP cards, then close them. At this point in time, you cannot afford more monthly or annual fees. Pay off Quicksilver, then remaining money into QS1, and work aggressively in the upcoming months towards paying it off.

Be mindful of when your 0% APRs expire

I would like to add that any payoff plan you have will only work if you stop charging.

Re: PIF Credit Cards In Which Order?

Cred4All — Thu, 18 Oct 2018 20:30:29 GMT

@Remedios wrote:
@CivalV wrote:
So I am finally able to pay down $2500 of CC debt. I would like some advice on what cards I should pay off first & how much if possible.

Should I pay $2500 of CC debt all this month or spread the debt payments over a span of 2-3 months?
CC debt is definitely holding back my scores. I am just not sure which way is the best way to go.

I have two cards with monthly/annual fees. They are FirstPremier cards $700 CL each. One charges $8 a month, the other $12 & both have annual fees of $96.

Here is my CC info

I would pay off both FP cards, then close them. At this point in time, you cannot afford more monthly or annual fees. Pay off Quicksilver, then remaining money into QS1, and work aggressively in the upcoming months towards paying it off.

Be mindful of when your 0% APRs expire

I would like to add that any payoff plan you have will only work if you stop charging.

Agree as well. Would be nice to pay both First Premier off ($1400 roughly) and close them, prevent any future fees / interest. Take the remainder and put $1,000 on the Quicksilver One to get that cut down, and maybe drop $60 on Victoria Secret so it's showing your first 0, and the remaining $40 save for a rainy day.

Re: PIF Credit Cards In Which Order?

Anonymous — Thu, 18 Oct 2018 20:35:58 GMT

I like the suggestions about combining tradelines, verifying promotions and taking AFs into consideration. Without looking at that I plugged what you have into how I went about deciding how to eliminate my debt. Each of the three options has specific benefits so it depends on your specific goals. I chose Option 2 because it freed up a significant amount of additional dollars each month to apply to the last big card to get the utilization down asap. The only downside I found with this approach is that the last card will be flagged with the high utilization. But, I believe my score results were better with all paid off but one or two vs paying everything down below the threshold where cards are considered fully utilized and still having balances on everything. Hopefully some more seasoned folks could let me know if I am off track. I hope this helps in some way.

fyi...the column "Target Max of 68%" is what I utilized to identify a minimum I wanted to see on my cards.

Option 1: GOAL - Reduce all card utilization below 50%
	Balance	Limit	Target Max of 68%	Payments	New Balance	Current Util %	Post Util %
QuickSilverOne	2700	2750	$1,870.00	$1,360.00	$1,340.00	98%	49%
Premier	699	700	$476.00	$360.00	$339.00	100%	48%
Premier2	698	700	$476.00	$360.00	$338.00	100%	48%
QuickSilver	434	500	$340.00	$200.00	$234.00	87%	47%
Discover	250	300	$204.00	$110.00	$140.00	83%	47%
Kohl's	250	300	$204.00	$110.00	$140.00	83%	47%
Victoria Secret	59	150	$102.00	$0.00	$59.00	39%	39%
Self Lender	1200	1700	$1,156.00		$1,200.00	71%	71%
Totals	6290	7100		$2,500.00	$3,790.00	89%	53%

OPTION 2: GOAL - Reduce tradelines with balances
	Balance	Limit	Target Max of 68%	Payments	New Balance	Current Util %	Post Util %
QuickSilverOne	2700	2750	$1,870.00	$110.00	$2,590.00	98%	94%
Premier	699	700	$476.00	$699.00	$0.00	100%	0%
Premier2	698	700	$476.00	$698.00	$0.00	100%	0%
QuickSilver	434	500	$340.00	$434.00	$0.00	87%	0%
Discover	250	300	$204.00	$250.00	$0.00	83%	0%
Kohl's	250	300	$204.00	$250.00	$0.00	83%	0%
Victoria Secret	59	150	$102.00	$59.00	$0.00	39%	0%
Self Lender	1200	1700	$1,156.00		$1,200.00	71%	71%
Totals	6290	7100		$2,500.00	$3,790.00	89%	53%

OPTION 3: GOAL - Combine Reduce tradelines with balances and Reduce per card utilization
	Balance	Limit	Target Max of 68%	Payments	New Balance	Current Util %	Post Util %
QuickSilverOne	2700	2750	$1,870.00	$675.00	$2,025.00	98%	74%
Premier	699	700	$476.00	$500.00	$199.00	100%	28%
Premier2	698	700	$476.00	$500.00	$198.00	100%	28%
QuickSilver	434	500	$340.00	$300.00	$134.00	87%	27%
Discover	250	300	$204.00	$250.00	$0.00	83%	0%
Kohl's	250	300	$204.00	$250.00	$0.00	83%	0%
Victoria Secret	59	150	$102.00	$59.00	$0.00	39%	0%
Self Lender	1200	1700	$1,156.00		$1,200.00	71%	71%
Totals	6290	7100		$2,534.00	$3,756.00	89%	53%

Re: PIF Credit Cards In Which Order?

CivalV — Thu, 18 Oct 2018 20:38:48 GMT

I totally forgot the QS1 has annual fee. I just upgraded my platinum to the QS1. My QS1 has a AAOA of over 6 years. I did consider combining but I really want to pay the cards off, request a CLI, try to upgrade the QS in 5 months and then do the combination of my QS1 to the QS.

Re: PIF Credit Cards In Which Order?

CivalV — Thu, 18 Oct 2018 20:46:22 GMT

Wow that was a real break down! Thank you. I honestly would like my overall utilization to drop. I am also looking to close the two Premier cards but I am afraid that will cause my UTL to go back up again so I might have to pay it off and let them sit in a drawer until I pay off my QS1 or receive a CLI on any of my accounts to even it out. What’s your take on this?

Re: PIF Credit Cards In Which Order?

Anonymous — Thu, 18 Oct 2018 20:59:47 GMT

@CivalV wrote:
Wow that was a real break down! Thank you. I honestly would like my overall utilization to drop. I am also looking to close the two Premier cards but I am afraid that will cause my UTL to go back up again so I might have to pay it off and let them sit in a drawer until I pay off my QS1 or receive a CLI on any of my accounts to even it out. What’s your take on this?

You are welcome. Personally, I wouldn't consider closing the Premier cards until your overall utilization would be less than 10% and even better 8% with out including them. This is the key threshold for showing Excellent utilization which was my goal.

Re: PIF Credit Cards In Which Order?

CreditInspired — Thu, 18 Oct 2018 22:14:31 GMT

@CivalV wrote:
So I am finally able to pay down $2500 of CC debt. I would like some advice on what cards I should pay off first & how much if possible.

Should I pay $2500 of CC debt all this month or spread the debt payments over a span of 2-3 months?
CC debt is definitely holding back my scores. I am just not sure which way is the best way to go.

I have two cards with monthly/annual fees. They are FirstPremier cards $700 CL each. One charges $8 a month, the other $12 & both have annual fees of $96.

Here is my CC info

Personally, I would pay off both Premier CCs and then close them pronto. The fees are outrageous! That leaves 1,100.

Second, then I would pay off Quick Silver, Discover, VS, and Kohl’s. This will not only lower your UT substantially, but now you will have 6 cards with 0 balances vs. 8 cards with balances. You should see a sizable bump.

Congrats on wanting to take the 2,500 and throwing it at your debt.

Re: PIF Credit Cards In Which Order?

CivalV — Thu, 18 Oct 2018 22:30:46 GMT

Thank you! The fees are definitely outrageous. At first I didnt care about fees until it started to add up.

I like your idea of paying down 6 to 0 balance. I can definitely do this with the $2500. In addition to that $2500 I might be able to put in $200 extra. I will most likely put that on the QS1.

I look forward to my cards reporting $0 balance starting next week! It will be scores going up, up and away!

Its so hard. I had the money months before and decided not to pay up. I learned not to ever do that again 🙏🏼

Re: PIF Credit Cards In Which Order?

Anonymous — Fri, 19 Oct 2018 01:48:34 GMT

@CivalV wrote:

Its so hard. I had the money months before and decided not to pay up. I learned not to ever do that again 🙏🏼

Yes, PIF is the only way to go unless you have a Zero APR period.

Re: PIF Credit Cards In Which Order?

Anonymous — Fri, 19 Oct 2018 01:52:02 GMT

Scores are meaningless unless you plan to apply for new credit, no one will care or get to see it except for you. I would focus on paying off the debt in the most efficient way that costs the least, the scores will follow sooner or later.

Pay off 2 Premiers and close them to eliminate fees is a no brainer, next would be QS with the highest APR, then I would throw everything else including the extra $200 at QS1 unless 0% promotions on the remaining 3 cards are coming to an end and APR is higher than QS1. In the meantime I would SD all cards until all cards are paid off and grace period restored, then become a transactor that PIF on every card every month.

Re: PIF Credit Cards In Which Order?

Thomas_Thumb — Fri, 19 Oct 2018 12:44:55 GMT

I would suggest paying down all highly utilized cards to below 69% as phase one. Then focus on paying down/off the four high APR cards while making slightly more than the minimum payments on your 0% APR cards.

Re: PIF Credit Cards In Which Order?

CivalV — Fri, 19 Oct 2018 16:46:05 GMT

So in addition to the $2500 I am able to put towards CC debt today my self lender will also go down by $150. I also have $600 of extra income by the end of this month that I can put towards my balances. Should I still pay all CC below 69% UTL? Or do the snowball method & then put that $600 onto my QS1 since it will be my only account with a balance? Im nervous about which way to go.

Re: PIF Credit Cards In Which Order?

SouthJamaica — Fri, 19 Oct 2018 16:54:52 GMT

@CivalV wrote:
So I am finally able to pay down $2500 of CC debt. I would like some advice on what cards I should pay off first & how much if possible.

Should I pay $2500 of CC debt all this month or spread the debt payments over a span of 2-3 months?
CC debt is definitely holding back my scores. I am just not sure which way is the best way to go.

I have two cards with monthly/annual fees. They are FirstPremier cards $700 CL each. One charges $8 a month, the other $12 & both have annual fees of $96.

Here is my CC info

With your $2500 you should:

1. Pay off both First Premier cards and close the accounts.

2. Pay off Victorias Secret.

3. Take the remaining $1140 and pay:

-570 to Capital One QS One

-70 to Capital One QS

-250 to Discover

-250 to Kohls