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Balance transfer higher balance card to lower balance cards?

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Anonymous
Not applicable

Balance transfer higher balance card to lower balance cards?

So I have a citi simplicity card that is pretty much maxed out at $2k. I have an Amex card with a $2k limit and a Discover card with a $1k limit. Both of which are completely paid off becuase their 0% intro period were about to expire. After paying those two cards off I was expecting a bit of an increase in my scores, but I am ssuming that takes a couple months to have any effect?

I was thinking would it be a good idea to transfer some of that $2k to the other cards that I just paid off or should I just work on trying to pay off the Citi card. I am really trying to cut down on monthly payments so it feels good to have 2 cards paid off. But at the same time I am looking for the route that would give me the highest boost of credit scores.

 

My current scores are: EQ: 637, TU: 636, EXP: 644. But due to my high utilization on the Citi card and my NFCU card its nearly impossible to get approved for anything at all.

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4 REPLIES 4
Creditaddict
Legendary Contributor

Re: Balance transfer higher balance card to lower balance cards?

I would wait for these 2 cards to update and report $0 balance on statements because having 2 cards with balances vs 4 will help your score.

then might be a good time to request CLI on Amex for 3x current since it's sp and ask for sp cli on discover too... I wouldn't let them hp if sp is not available.

 

Message 2 of 5
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Balance transfer higher balance card to lower balance cards?

Far as I know the total utilization is what counts, not positive. I would imagine though that not having a maxed out limit is better than having one with 2 zero balance cards. 

Message 3 of 5
NRB525
Super Contributor

Re: Balance transfer higher balance card to lower balance cards?


@Anonymous wrote:

So I have a citi simplicity card that is pretty much maxed out at $2k. I have an Amex card with a $2k limit and a Discover card with a $1k limit. Both of which are completely paid off becuase their 0% intro period were about to expire. After paying those two cards off I was expecting a bit of an increase in my scores, but I am ssuming that takes a couple months to have any effect?

I was thinking would it be a good idea to transfer some of that $2k to the other cards that I just paid off or should I just work on trying to pay off the Citi card. I am really trying to cut down on monthly payments so it feels good to have 2 cards paid off. But at the same time I am looking for the route that would give me the highest boost of credit scores.

 

My current scores are: EQ: 637, TU: 636, EXP: 644. But due to my high utilization on the Citi card and my NFCU card its nearly impossible to get approved for anything at all.


Ok, re-reading your title, you are just talking about transferring funds from one high utilization card to a lower utilization card, without regard to the APR?

 

If you do any BT, you will get a 3% or 4% BT Fee immediately, with a minimum of $10 usually. So your open balances will increase. The BT only makes sense if you are moving the funds to a significantly lower, preferably zero, APR card so you really save some serious money on the interest cost.

 

With a $2k balance, usually it is not worth the effort to try to move the balance, but rather just lean into the payments to get the balance down. Only if you have a solid 0% BT Offer does it make sense to transfer, and it does not sound like that is available.

 

(BTW Capital One usually has "no BT Fee" on their cards, AFAIK, which makes it much easier to just move the money over there and start paying CapOne, even if the APR is only 1% lower. Another one of my plugs for CapOne)

High Bal Jan 2009 $116k on $146k limits 80% Util.
Oct 2014 $46k on $127k 36% util EQ 722 TU 727 EX 727
April 2018 $18k on $344k 5% util EQ 806 TU 810 EX 812
Jan 2019 $7.6k on $360k EQ 832 TU 839 EX 831
March 2021 $33k on $312k EQ 796 TU 798 EX 801
May 2021 Paid all Installments and Mortgages, one new Mortgage EQ 761 TY 774 EX 777
April 2022 EQ=811 TU=807 EX=805 - TU VS 3.0 765
Message 4 of 5
takeshi74
Senior Contributor

Re: Balance transfer higher balance card to lower balance cards?


@Anonymous wrote:

After paying those two cards off I was expecting a bit of an increase in my scores, but I am ssuming that takes a couple months to have any effect?


There's no fixed timeframe.  It all depends on when your accounts report.  Scores are generated based on the data in your reports.  Those that generate scores do not have access to your current balances.

 


@Anonymous wrote:

I was thinking would it be a good idea to transfer some of that $2k to the other cards that I just paid off or should I just work on trying to pay off the Citi card. I am really trying to cut down on monthly payments so it feels good to have 2 cards paid off. But at the same time I am looking for the route that would give me the highest boost of credit scores.


Your call.  As always, consider both individual and overall utilization, BT fees, how quickly you can pay down, etc.  If you have a maxed card you'll want to get its utilization down ASAP.  If you can quickly pay down that card then pay it down instead of messing around with BT's.

 


@Anonymous wrote:

Far as I know the total utilization is what counts


Both individual and overall matter.

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