topic Re: Be Honest: Have you Carried a balance on a CC? in Credit Cards

Be Honest: Have you Carried a balance on a CC?

BeeH11 — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 22:46:19 GMT

Hello!

1. I feel like most people on here state they PIF all/most of the time. Really? Or is that only after you found this site? Be honest.

2. Other than paying interest? Why is not PIF such a bad thing?

If you have zero to low interest and keep your utilization low, is it still considered a bad thing?

(I have avg interest and not low util so I know it's not good for me.)

3. For those of you who have read some of my prior posts, you know I have high utilization but that's about to change. Should I be worried that my credit card companies are going to close my accounts or cut my limits once I pay off the balances?

My only experience related to this is when I had a Citi student credit card. Had it for a while and would run it up for school and pay it down during the summer, then run it up next school year, etc... I graduated college right when the market went bust. I couldn't find a job for 6 months after graduating and only paid the minimum, but I always did pay and never late. After a few months, they closed my account and I paid it off ASAP.

4. I would also like to know if any of you carried a (high) balance for a while, then paid it down and the account was closed or limit cut.

(For reference, I never pay late and I always pay more than the minimum but sometimes not much more than the minimum).

Thanks guys! I'm so glad I found this sight b/c everyone's experiences have taught me so much!

Re: Be Honest: Have you Carried a balance on a CC?

Anonymous — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 22:55:19 GMT

I always PIF but if I get a new card with a 0% offer and I have a big purchase I might float it a few months. But I can't recall ever paying interest on a card.

Re: Be Honest: Have you Carried a balance on a CC?

Anonymous — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 22:58:04 GMT

I can't afford to carry a balance.

Re: Be Honest: Have you Carried a balance on a CC?

Anonymous — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 23:05:17 GMT

While Discover and Freedom both have 0% offers I will be switching between the two and carrying a small balance of no more than $250. After the intro period every card gets PIF. See no reason to ever pay a dime of interest. If I cant afford it with cash I dont purchase it

Re: Be Honest: Have you Carried a balance on a CC?

Luscher — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 23:05:28 GMT

only on 0% cards

Re: Be Honest: Have you Carried a balance on a CC?

wacdenney — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 23:08:00 GMT

I'm carrying a balance right now. It is left over from a trip to Disney World. I will have it paid of in the next week or two and then I will have another balance to carry after Christmas shopping. I ususally carry my Christmas balance for 3 to 4 months. Then I will have a balance to carry from vacation next summer. Wash. rinse, repeat...

I usually put my 2 to 4 months of balance carry on a card with an intro APR or in the worse case I would use one of my CU cards. Having a single card on which to carry a balance when needed is a part of my overall strategy.

Re: Be Honest: Have you Carried a balance on a CC?

lg8302ch — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 23:06:53 GMT

I always PIF but whenever I get a promo offer 0% APR for 12 months with a 1% BT fee as an access check I take advantage of it and deposit this money into my savings account. So whenever I would need to carry a balance I do not need to pay more than the 1% or basically it is free money if I count interest I will get on the amount. So I have the money to PIF again for a larger item... sounds complicated ? .. it is not,,, I just get the money when they offer it to me and use it when I need it

Re: Be Honest: Have you Carried a balance on a CC?

AvadaKedavra — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 23:12:08 GMT

The higest balance I've left on a card is about $200.

Re: Be Honest: Have you Carried a balance on a CC?

eddie84 — Mon, 10 Nov 2014 00:04:22 GMT

I carry balances all the time... even on Amex cards! I know it's blasphemy but I always pay if off sooner or later. lol When I start carrying balances, scores wil drop but then it will bounce back up once it's paid off.

Re: Be Honest: Have you Carried a balance on a CC?

Anonymous — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 23:19:50 GMT

Last year I took advantage of my Bofa Cash Rewards 0% APR for 12 months, and carried a couple pretty hefty balances for 2-4 months. An emergency came up where I needed to purchase a couple of expensive items for the house for family and ended up using it to carry around 1500 dollars both instances.

Although it's not ideal, it also isn't a bad thing to carry a balance especially when you need the funds. After all, that's what credit is all about. Borrowing and paying it back.

Re: Be Honest: Have you Carried a balance on a CC?

Anonymous — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 23:21:23 GMT

I pay in full most of the times, but if there's some unexpected finance issue then I do carry balance. It's better to carry balance on credit card and pay 14.99-24.99% interest than using cash advances (which I used before when I was super desperate)

Re: Be Honest: Have you Carried a balance on a CC?

Anonymous — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 23:24:26 GMT

@BeeH11 wrote:
Hello!

1. I feel like most people on here state they PIF all/most of the time. Really? Or is that only after you found this site? Be honest.

2. Other than paying interest? Why is not PIF such a bad thing?
If you have zero to low interest and keep your utilization low, is it still considered a bad thing?
(I have avg interest and not low util so I know it's not good for me.)

3. For those of you who have read some of my prior posts, you know I have high utilization but that's about to change. Should I be worried that my credit card companies are going to close my accounts or cut my limits once I pay off the balances?
My only experience related to this is when I had a Citi student credit card. Had it for a while and would run it up for school and pay it down during the summer, then run it up next school year, etc... I graduated college right when the market went bust. I couldn't find a job for 6 months after graduating and only paid the minimum, but I always did pay and never late. After a few months, they closed my account and I paid it off ASAP.

4. I would also like to know if any of you carried a (high) balance for a while, then paid it down and the account was closed or limit cut.

(For reference, I never pay late and I always pay more than the minimum but sometimes not much more than the minimum).

Thanks guys! I'm so glad I found this sight b/c everyone's experiences have taught me so much!

No ones really answered your questions yet have we? Apologies, here goes.

1.) PIF has been a long term habit of mine before I got any credit cards or found this site. Thats always been the case for all of my bills. I dont particularly like being in debt.

2.) Aside from interest fees putting you in even more debt I dont suppose there's a huge negative to carrying a balance unless that balance is high compared to your credit line and sets off warning bells with the lender. My utilization has ranged between 3% - 8% even with the 0% offers and I dont consider it a bad thing at all. My scores consider it pretty great since they consistently rise

3.) Really dont have much experience with this or knowledge about it so I would refer to the more experienced members here. Lender tolerance for high utilization may vary.

4.) Never carried a high balance

Re: Be Honest: Have you Carried a balance on a CC?

Anonymous — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 23:25:41 GMT

Yep I do carry a balance. Last year I did it a lot, but now I'm wiser. If its 0% APR I'm definitely using all of it lol

Re: Be Honest: Have you Carried a balance on a CC?

Membersince2013 — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 23:26:44 GMT

Only carry a balance on 0% APR cards.

Re: Be Honest: Have you Carried a balance on a CC?

changingmantra2 — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 23:30:16 GMT

Yes - when I have and have not had 0% interest.

Re: Be Honest: Have you Carried a balance on a CC?

Creditwiser — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 23:40:13 GMT

From time to time yes. But a small balance to limit and only on occasion when other things come up. Otherwise, I always PIF. Its not a big deal to throw the lender a small interest bone here and there. But I never carry a large balance say >500

Re: Be Honest: Have you Carried a balance on a CC?

rlx01 — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 23:56:36 GMT

If the APR is 0-10% and opportunity cost of staying liquid is low, then sure.

As long as you're capable of paying a balance back even if some emergency costs pop up, I don't see the issue.

Re: Be Honest: Have you Carried a balance on a CC?

MarineVietVet — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 23:58:03 GMT

Oh believe me I have carried plenty of balances (and paid plenty of interest) before the light finally came on.

Re: Be Honest: Have you Carried a balance on a CC?

taxi818 — Mon, 10 Nov 2014 00:09:03 GMT

what do you mean be honest. im sure most here are honest with nothing to hide. a few trolls here and there.ignore them. me myself. i carry balances all the time. out of 15 cards. i have balance on 4 right now.highest on Discover. with the 0 apr for 14 months. still have a year to go on that. so im floating it untill they start to hit me for some serious interest. this is lights out. over paid off. so yes. to your question . all the time. to add .overall usage is at 12 percent. will be getting that below 10 in a month. goal. is to have balance on 1 card only and under 10percent.that will happen before the new year hits. it is xmas time. so time to spend a little. not for myself but for others.

Re: Be Honest: Have you Carried a balance on a CC?

mongstradamus — Mon, 10 Nov 2014 00:09:15 GMT

I carry balances all the time, as long as pay statement balance or min if i still have 0% intro apr running . I don't see the problem. I must be missing something ?