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@Cred4AllWow! Now that's food for thought! The time and effort alone I appreciate, hope OP sees this soon. Very thoughtful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!@ImTheDevil I second that Boom!
I must admit being relatively new to the boards this is the first I've heard of "balance chasing". The great mystery of credit card companies I guess, they give you these huge credit limits then punish you when you actually take advantage of them. I can see how it would be incredbly frustrating, you reduce your utilization, they reduce your limit thereby tanking your utilization and putting you back to square one.
My question is. Is there a set utilization where banks start "balance chasing". In my line of work I will often use my cards for business expenses, then pay them off as soon as the contract ends. I've had ultilization as high as 65% with no issues in the past (it's currently down around 10% so no worries at present). But I'm now concerned that I might be better off taking out a bank loan during my next contract (which kind of defeats the purpose of having the credit cards in the first place).
@Dervrak wrote:I must admit being relatively new to the boards this is the first I've heard of "balance chasing". The great mystery of credit card companies I guess, they give you these huge credit limits then punish you when you actually take advantage of them. I can see how it would be incredbly frustrating, you reduce your utilization, they reduce your limit thereby tanking your utilization and putting you back to square one.
My question is. Is there a set utilization where banks start "balance chasing". In my line of work I will often use my cards for business expenses, then pay them off as soon as the contract ends. I've had ultilization as high as 65% with no issues in the past (it's currently down around 10% so no worries at present). But I'm now concerned that I might be better off taking out a bank loan during my next contract (which kind of defeats the purpose of having the credit cards in the first place).
The OP is kind of a special case. He opened cards and transferred balances to free up limits to buy a house. He basically maxed all his cards, probably, almost at the same time. If anything, the banks we're worried about bust-out fraud which triggered the AA. It probably doesn't help that he's taking advantage of the 0% and slowly paying everything down. Whether or not a lender initiates AA is dependent on your history with them, though some lenders have itchy trigger fingers. If you have a $10k limit and never used more than $500 for 5 years, then all of a sudden charge 5k, that unusual spend could trigger AA. Or in Cap1 and Chase's case, they give you bigger limits once you pay them off. 😄
@Dervrak wrote:I must admit being relatively new to the boards this is the first I've heard of "balance chasing". The great mystery of credit card companies I guess, they give you these huge credit limits then punish you when you actually take advantage of them. I can see how it would be incredbly frustrating, you reduce your utilization, they reduce your limit thereby tanking your utilization and putting you back to square one.
My question is. Is there a set utilization where banks start "balance chasing". In my line of work I will often use my cards for business expenses, then pay them off as soon as the contract ends. I've had ultilization as high as 65% with no issues in the past (it's currently down around 10% so no worries at present). But I'm now concerned that I might be better off taking out a bank loan during my next contract (which kind of defeats the purpose of having the credit cards in the first place).
History is everything. And IMO, the way you’re doing it is okay. CCCs see that you run large balances, but you also make large payments or PIF.
Banks don’t like prolonged large balances and small payments, or god-forbid minimum payments.
Max UT is >89.9%. That’s when a bank’s risk assessment kicks in, and it also depends on the lender. For example, NFCU is ok with large balances, whereas Chase may get spooked.
Also, one maxed out card can be remedied quickly. The problem occurs when there are several maxed out cards. Banks need to protect themselves so they go into aggressive mode.
Again, I dont think you have any need to worry.
Thanks cred4all for breaking it down in layman’s terms for OP and in terms that are doable. If he/she implements this, there’s definitely light at the end of the tunnel.
@CreditInspired wrote:Thanks cred4all for breaking it down in layman’s terms for OP and in terms that are doable. If he/she implements this, there’s definitely light at the end of the tunnel.
Thanks all, and I agree. It can be manipulated any which way based on how the OP is rolling along, but if in fact that cash is available to pay the cards down then this UTIL issue, as we all know, can be nipped in the backside immediately.
I’m very surprised Discover is balance chasing you.
This was touched on a bit but balance chasing on 0% customer seems to be one of those things banks do that make people despise them. What exactly is their intention for the 0% offer, other then to use it?
I have never been balance chased and until the last few years I never really paid attention to how much of my credit I was using. I don’t think I have ever gone up to 90% but I’m sure I’ve gone close. Back before the last financial crisis I would get cards just to float spend and profit. Back then most cards didn’t give more than cash or miles equivalent of 1-2%. Even with that I could put all my spend on 0% card and get 2-3% in the bank and essentially make about 5% without the risk of the stock market. I would never do that now in today’s environment. I thought maybe with Discover since they actively seek promote balance transfers but it does not appear that’s a good idea.
@Cred4ALL
Wow, now that is a thorough and extremely helpful response! I really appreciate your help on this one and after reviewing, I will be going by your advice. Wish me luck in getting the rest of these balances knocked out!