Decreasing Credit Card Utilization

[Anonymous]

Currently got an Equifax score of 634, don't see a transunion or experian score for some reason but I only have one secured credit card from Orchard Bank for 1000.00. I usually pay it completely off or at least 90% off every month but my utilization appears to be high for this reason. I think the best way to reduce this would be to get a couple of more credit cards to spread the load until I pay them off at the end of the month. My thing is I don't know what other credit cards to apply for that are decent. I'd prefer unsecured because I can't afford to get three or four more cards and give them all a 1000.00. Is this the best way to do this? What cards do you suggest?

[llecs]

In DW and my case, the magic number of cards were three. Anymore than that, initially, would hurt our scores. I would order the EX and TU scores as well, and selectively apply for cards based on the CRA with a higher score. Do your homework first to see which card is good for which score based on CRA. You won't need another secured card.

If you are only using 10% on the card, then you don't have a utilization problem. If you are using more than 10% but are paying it down to 10% or less by the due date, then you could still have a utilization problem if the the CC reports your higher balance before your payment is credited. In other words, you could PIF every month but still show a utilization up to 100%. Figure out when they report.

[Anonymous]

Where can I find out what cards are good for what scores per credit card agency. I'm a newbie to this forum so between the abbreviations and everything else I'm still trying to find my way a little bit. Can you give me a link or some keywords to search for in the forum? Thanks.

[Anonymous]

OK. I think I found the information you were speaking about. So you said it's best to apply for not more than three credit cards initially, right?

[llecs]

I get my info from two main sources outside this forum. They are Creditboards.com (CB) and whogavemecredit.com. Whogavecredit it is set up where you can search based on CCC or by CRA or by score. Visually, it is not too appealing, and some people have entered their information incorrectly. For example, Juniper SeaMiles pulls TU. Instead of entering their score in the TU field, some folks have entered their info in all three CRA fields. As a result, it is difficult to see which CC pulled which CRA. CB is better but you have to register first. You can search by CRA, by CC and by score. It's better, but the forums aren't very good, IMHO.

[llecs]

Don't do what I did. I applied for anything and everthing, regardless of score. I applied for about 25 different CC, as I had none on Aug. 1, and was only approved initially for 2. This resulted in 23+ (CapOne did all three) wasted inquiries. It also negatively impacted my score.

I wish I focused on credit repair first and carefully and selectively applied for cards that I would most likely get approved for and stop when I get three cards. I was trying to hit a homerun when a base hit would have worked. BTW, since receiving these cards, both my wife (DW) and I receive pre-approved offers almost daily now.

I received 7 cards in my first 3 months and it was too much. I'm posting an update to my scores later today and it will likely reflect that (even with 1 major baddie killed).