Hi! I'm not sure if this is the most appropriate board; however, all input is appreciated.
I am in the process of rebuilding my credit and I am brand new to balance transfers. I have about $15k in cc debt and would like to start paying it down more rapidly. I apped and was approved for a Discover it card for $10k and would like to transfer a $2400 balance from my Barclay American AAdvantage MC that was transferred from BofA USairways Visa in January of this year, as well as roughly $650 from a Cap1 MC and $650 each from 2 Cap1 Visas. How wouild this effect my FICO scores? Is this too much utilization for the Discover it?
My current FICO scores are: EQ-682, EX-657, and TU-693
I have one collection from EQUIDATA for a Cox bill that I've disputed (not successful) for $207 from a little over 2 years ago (I will pay this)
I also have one late from Barclay from January 2011 (was Bank of America) BofA removed from reports; however, Barclay put it back on my reports when the card was transferred to them, and one 30 day late from January 2011 from Zales.
My biggest issue is Student Loans that reported 120 days late in 2010 and 2011, but have since been rehabilitated.
I do have various store cards and other credit cards that I have been paying down each month. My current income is roughly $70,000 annually.
I've been reading the forums daily and absorbing tons of information. Thanks to everyone here. 
@Anonymous wrote:Hi! I'm not sure if this is the most appropriate board; however, all input is appreciated.
I am in the process of rebuilding my credit and I am brand new to balance transfers. I have about $15k in cc debt and would like to start paying it down more rapidly. I apped and was approved for a Discover it card for $10k and would like to transfer a $2400 balance from my Barclay American AAdvantage MC that was transferred from BofA USairways Visa in January of this year, as well as roughly $650 from a Cap1 MC and $650 each from 2 Cap1 Visas. How wouild this effect my FICO scores? Is this too much utilization for the Discover it?
My current FICO scores are: EQ-682, EX-657, and TU-693
I have one collection from EQUIDATA for a Cox bill that I've disputed (not successful) for $207 from a little over 2 years ago (I will pay this)
I also have one late from Barclay from January 2011 (was Bank of America) BofA removed from reports; however, Barclay put it back on my reports when the card was transferred to them, and one 30 day late from January 2011 from Zales.
My biggest issue is Student Loans that reported 120 days late in 2010 and 2011, but have since been rehabilitated.
I do have various store cards and other credit cards that I have been paying down each month. My current income is roughly $70,000 annually.
I've been reading the forums daily and absorbing tons of information. Thanks to everyone here.
This would leave the Discover card at 43% utilization. While it may not be the best utilization for scoring, it's not terrible. Leaving it at 40% for a couple of months isn't going to hurt you long term, as utilization has no memory. How long were you planning to take when paying this balance down?
I do think you're overthinking the utlization though. I believe during debt paydown mode, your scores should come second to your total balances. Who cares what your credit score is if your wasting money on interest? If you're itching to see some scores update, get all cards below 30%.
It will bring your scores down some, 7 to 10 points I'd guess, if you go over 50% utilization on the card, but the main purpose is to save interest expense. Cash benefits outweigh temporary score changes, because your score will recover as you pay it down. Saving the cash is best.
Discover likes BT. I have put 90%+ BT's on my Discover a couple of times to get low APR, and as long as you pay it off, they are fine with it.
@beautifulblaquepearl wrote:
I would rather take the ding on utilization than pay interest. I'm assuming this is why you want to do a BT. If doing the BT has a negative impact on your scores because of high utilization, your scores will rebound as you pay down the BT. If you aren't making a major purchase any time soon then it will be okay. Best of luck!
Yes, I am doing the BT to save money on interest. I also have a Barclay Rewards card with $4500 SL and 15 months no interest on transfers, but I didn't think the limit was big enough to do anything.
@Anonymous wrote:
@beautifulblaquepearl wrote:
I would rather take the ding on utilization than pay interest. I'm assuming this is why you want to do a BT. If doing the BT has a negative impact on your scores because of high utilization, your scores will rebound as you pay down the BT. If you aren't making a major purchase any time soon then it will be okay. Best of luck!Yes, I am doing the BT to save money on interest. I also have a Barclay Rewards card with $4500 SL and 15 months no interest on transfers, but I didn't think the limit was big enough to do anything.
You have to be a little more careful with Barclays, but don't be afraid to use up to 30% of it. You could BT $1300 to it with no negative effect to your scores, and without scaring Barclays.
