How should I pay down my cards?

[Anonymous]

Hello all, I have a few credit cards and a plan. I'm wanting to get my score up to 700 before august if possible. I'm currently at 625,607,640 and i'm wanting these scores up to get refinanced on my car. Which cards should I pay down first to reduce utilization and get that score up up up? I'm doing all minimum payments plus at least $200 extra per month to help pay on them.

Current Balances:

Cap One Secured $350/$500 (25min, 24.99%)

Cap One QSilver   $300/$500 (25min, 24.99%)

Credit One              $200/$450 (25min, 24.99%)

Walmart                   $250/$500 (25min, 25.99%)

Cap One Journey  $200/$300 (25min, 24.99%)

Exxon Mobile         $40  /$200 (25min, 24.99%)

JcPennys                $70  /$500 (25min, 27.99%)

Kays                        $450/$1000(50min, 24.99%)

I'm thinking drop $200 and get the journey card paid off this month and that'll also free up $25 next month. Opinions? And again, goal is to reach 700 by July or August if possible. I'll be paying on all of these and getting over utilization down while also paying car payments. Thanks!

[RockinRay]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hello all, I have a few credit cards and a plan. I'm wanting to get my score up to 700 before august if possible. I'm currently at 625,607,640 and i'm wanting these scores up to get refinanced on my car. Which cards should I pay down first to reduce utilization and get that score up up up? I'm doing all minimum payments plus at least $200 extra per month to help pay on them.

Current Balances:

Cap One Secured $350/$500 (25min, 24.99%)

Cap One QSilver   $300/$500 (25min, 24.99%)

Credit One              $200/$450 (25min, 24.99%)

Walmart                   $250/$500 (25min, 25.99%)

Cap One Journey  $200/$300 (25min, 24.99%)

Exxon Mobile         $40  /$200 (25min, 24.99%)

JcPennys                $70  /$500 (25min, 27.99%)

Kays                        $450/$1000(50min, 24.99%)

I'm thinking drop $200 and get the journey card paid off this month and that'll also free up $25 next month. Opinions? And again, goal is to reach 700 by July or August if possible. I'll be paying on all of these and getting over utilization down while also paying car payments. Thanks!

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This is a hard one due to the fact that the APR's are all so high! But I will take a stab at it.

1. Pay off Pennys and Exxon. Those balances are small.

2. Since those two are paid, take the money you would normally pay on them and apply to your Walmart card.

3. Rinse and repeat. When you get one paid off, take the extra funds and put towards the next card.

Normally, I would recommend paying the highest APR first, then work towards the next highest APR. But, your cards are all very close in APR so it makes it tough.

As you pay off the cards, try not to use them. If you can, try and just use cash for stuff until these are all paid off.

Not much help - you are in a tough position.

[Anonymous]

Just out of curiosity, how does the rest of your CR look? Any collections, lates, or other adverse items that would bring the score down? It can take a long time to rebuild credit scores, but getting the adverse stuff off (via disputes, goodwill letters, etc.) can make a HUGE difference.

[Anonymous]

No I'm actually newer to credit so good there. Just a lot of new accounts as you can see. 😀. I use the Exxon card routinely as it gives a good bit cash back on gas. So JcPenny's and then clean out Walmart? Only reason for wanting to pay journey's off is that it's been higher for a month now and I only used it for an emergency car repair. I won't be touching it again so that's why I was wanting to get that one down first, plus it'd look better because that'd be one less card that would be reporting high utilization. Is my thinking flawed?

[Anonymous]

Get rid of credut one asap cancel it and NEVER ever get a card thru them again. Other than that pay them off 1 by 1 every month.
Next step sock drawer your cards and work on getting higher limits. Use only 1 card until you can handle monthly payments.

[SouthJamaica]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hello all, I have a few credit cards and a plan. I'm wanting to get my score up to 700 before august if possible. I'm currently at 625,607,640 and i'm wanting these scores up to get refinanced on my car. Which cards should I pay down first to reduce utilization and get that score up up up? I'm doing all minimum payments plus at least $200 extra per month to help pay on them.

Current Balances:

Cap One Secured $350/$500 (25min, 24.99%)

Cap One QSilver   $300/$500 (25min, 24.99%)

Credit One              $200/$450 (25min, 24.99%)

Walmart                   $250/$500 (25min, 25.99%)

Cap One Journey  $200/$300 (25min, 24.99%)

Exxon Mobile         $40  /$200 (25min, 24.99%)

JcPennys                $70  /$500 (25min, 27.99%)

Kays                        $450/$1000(50min, 24.99%)

I'm thinking drop $200 and get the journey card paid off this month and that'll also free up $25 next month. Opinions? And again, goal is to reach 700 by July or August if possible. I'll be paying on all of these and getting over utilization down while also paying car payments. Thanks!

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1. Stop using the cards.

2. 1st extra 200: pay off Exxon Mobil & JCPenneys, then $90 to Cap One Journey

3. 2nd extra 200: pay off Cap One Journey, then 90 to Credit One

4. 3rd extra 200: pay off Credit One, then 90 to Walmart

5. 4th extra 200: pay 160 to Walmart, then 40 to Quicksilver

[ChargedUp]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Get rid of credut one asap cancel it and NEVER ever get a card thru them again. Other than that pay them off 1 by 1 every month.
Next step sock drawer your cards and work on getting higher limits. Use only 1 card until you can handle monthly payments.

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Agreed. You're throwing money at monthly "fees" along with a high APR on the Credit One card. Grow the relationship you've already started with Capital One for now. Cap One also has decent products that you can PC into as your credit grows. (Venture, Quicksilver, etc.)

PS. Also stay away from anything that says "Verve" or "Surge"!

[Turbobuick]

Because all the rates are basically the same. Pay the lowest balances first. Following month you will have less to divide and can pay more toward the next balance. I want to emphasize that you don't use any of the cards while paying them off. It's too easy to go down that slippery slope.  Good luck.  

[jdxprs1]

Tighten your belt and pay off the capital one secured. Get the 500 deposit back and use it to pay off the quicksilver and credit one.

2nd month put the extra 200 on the cap one journey. Hit credit increase luv button on Walmart card. Should be able to take that to at least 2k.

So after month 2 your utilization problems are gone. Pay the rest however you want.

[medicgrrl]

I wouldn't close any cards yet. You said you have enough to pay the minimum payments plus an additional $200 per month. Based on your post above, that would be $425 per month. Start at the lowest balance and work your way up. Continue paying the $425 per month towards them and you should have them paid off in 4-5 months. As soon as you have them paid off, close credit one and stop paying those monthly fees. You have enough cards without that one.