Is it bad to max cards with BT's

[KatSoDak]

---

@NextUp2bat wrote:

Yes. I'm planning to use the existing card. They have an offer on my account for the Cash Rewards card. Tell me more about the platinum card. Should I apply before or after I do the BT?  

---

The Platinum is a no frills card pretty much intended to be a balance transfer card. You may get 15 months 0% APR. I'm not sure what the current offer timeframe is. After I finished the BT I had on the Platinum card I reallocated the CL to my Cash Rewards card.  I could have kept the Platinum card for future BT offers but have other cards I use for that and wanted the increased CL on the Cash Rewards card.

I would apply for the second card first so you know what $$ total you have to work with, assuming you are approved. 

[coldfusion]

Apply before the BT but you should understand that with 35% aggregate utilization and with a few cards already each with high individual utilization there's a realistic possibility of denial or an approval with only a small limit.   BoA is pretty well known for the ability to grow to reach limits, not so much for starting off with them.

[NextUp2bat]

Ok. Thanks for the info. I'm going to open a savings account and put some money in it and then apply. My last increase, I requested $5k but was only granted $4.8k and one of the reasons for not approving the request is because I had no other relationship with the bank.

[NextUp2bat]

Thanks for the insight and sharing your experience. Will do. Keeping my fingers crossed. 

[NextUp2bat]

WOW! That's pretty drastic! I definitely need to rethink my game play and move some things around. Thanks for sharing. 

[NRB525]

---

@dragontears wrote:

I just wanted to give you an example of what can happen when only one card is maxed.

The dip that occurred in November was due to having a single card report >85% utilization with overall utilization <10%.

---

OP, note the scale on the right hand side. This score is still close to 800.  While high utilization will reduce score, it's not "terrible" in the sense of physically losing a finger. It also isn't going to be 100 points lower from where you are now, as you already have some high balances. 

A BT can save significant interest costs compared to leaving balances in place. Nobody pays you money just for having a good FICO score. A good FICO score can get you better terms on a specific loan app, but if no new mortgage or auto loan is near term, then FICO reductions are not an absolute bad thing.  

[NRB525]

---

@NextUp2bat wrote:

Thanks for asking. I have it in my head but have never put it in writing so this is a great time to do so. I'm open to suggestions.

My current debt:

Chase   - $12k out of $18.2k

Discover - $8k out of $11.6k

Paypal  - $2k out of 4k (Balance is at 0% Interest ending in various months with the final one due in December)

Best Buy - Citi $2.6k out of $6.7k   ($800 at 0% until Sept and $1800 at 0% until 4/22)

BOA of $0 out of $9.2k (Account is about 8 y.o)

Ultimate goal is take make large payments and have cards paid off by the end of the 0% APR offers.

Walmart Visa $0 Out of $10k

Capital One Venture $0 of $8k

Macy Amex $0 out of $9k

Credit One $0 out of $1500

Credit One $0 out of $1500

FNBO - NEW $5.7k out of $6.3k (Applied $5.7k BT to Chase)

My original plan:

Disco Balance to BOA 0% APR until 10/22

Apply for new Disco or CITI for Chase $12k now - Now that FNBO did $5k, I plan to use the new card once approved for $7k balance

---

I would start with moving the 8k from Discover to BofA. 
BT the remaining $6k from Chase to Discover. 
End of Balance Transfers routine. 

Make sure those existing 0% offers get paid off by the end of their deferred interest period so you don't get hit with the deferred interest, but pay them in place, don't BT to another card. Do everything you can to get the last $1 before the deferred expires. Maybe a small BT to Discover on the $0 fee low APR BT would be appropriate, but try to finish these off in place. 

I don't think you need to apply for any new cards. 

Be sure to stay focused on paying these down, not adding any new charges to BT cards. What is your monthly cash available to pay toward these?

[dragontears]

---

@NRB525 wrote:

---

@dragontears wrote:

I just wanted to give you an example of what can happen when only one card is maxed.

The dip that occurred in November was due to having a single card report >85% utilization with overall utilization <10%.

---

OP, note the scale on the right hand side. This score is still close to 800.  While high utilization will reduce score, it's not "terrible" in the sense of physically losing a finger. It also isn't going to be 100 points lower from where you are now, as you already have some high balances. 

A BT can save significant interest costs compared to leaving balances in place. Nobody pays you money just for having a good FICO score. A good FICO score can get you better terms on a specific loan app, but if no new mortgage or auto loan is near term, then FICO reductions are not an absolute bad thing.  

---

This is true, for me it was a 25-30 point drop depending on CRA but my scores were still >780 so I wasn't concerned about AA.

If it would save me significant money I would max out a card in a heartbeat assuming I had a plan to pay it off 

[NRB525]

---

@SouthJamaica wrote:

---

@NextUp2bat wrote:

FIrst let me thank you all for sharing such a wealth of knowledge whether it is answering question or posting your experience. I would not be where I am today creditwise without you. Now to my question/scenario. I have balances on about 4 out of 11 cards. I am looking to do BT's so I can take advantage of 0% APR, focus on those and pay them off quicker. Will it impact my score terribly if I max out a couple of cards with BT's and pretty much leave the other accounts at $0 for PIF every month? I don't if it matters but with new account and CLI's, my overall CU will be just under 30%. I guess part of my question is how impact does individual card vs overall CU matters.

---

Yes it will impact your score terribly.

It might even cause a problem with the lender.

Don't.

---

No, it won't impact OP's score "terribly". OP already has balances. Scores are already affected by high utilization. The objective now is to lower interest costs to put more of the available monthly cash toward paying down the balances, and get scores to improve over time.  

As outlined in my reply upthread, OP should definitely do some BT steps using existing cards. 

[Remedios]

@NextUp2bat  AA is always a possibility, but realistically looking, once you do BTs, it won't be that much different than what you have now. 

Getting out of the debt is by far more important.

I'd rather temporarily lose Ficos and/or have a lender twitch than overstretch and miss payments.

Score improves as utilization goes down, late payments and charge offs screech for 7 years. 

One thing though, I'd pay off those smaller balances to reduce number of accounts with balances, and stay away from minimum payments, amounts you're transferring are significant, so your payments should reflect that.