Is it better to split BTs between multiple cards for scoring purposes?

[Anonymous]

I will be processing a BT in the next week or so and was wondering if I should put the entire 6k on my citi (7.5k Limit) or if I should put some on my discover (6.2k limit). Citi 0% BT expires Dec 1, 2019 and Discover would expire in June or July next year.

Since I wouldn’t be able to get the utilization down on Citi until next year, I was wondering if it would make more sense to split the BTs between Citi and Discover? I will be making 10$ over minimum while putting the most towards Fidelity which needs to be paid off by December.

[DeeBee78]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I will be processing a BT in the next week or so and was wondering if I should put the entire 6k on my citi (7.5k Limit) or if I should put some on my discover (6.2k limit). Citi 0% BT expires Dec 1, 2019 and Discover would expire in June or July next year.

Since I wouldn’t be able to get the utilization down on Citi until next year, I was wondering if it would make more sense to split the BTs between Citi and Discover? I will be making 10$ over minimum while putting the most towards Fidelity which needs to be paid off by December.

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Do you need the highest FICO score any time in the near future? If so, having balances reporting on more than 50% of your cards will be an issue, as it lowers your FICO 08 score a bit. Having over 90% utilization on a card also hurts your score, but no one really knows which has more impact. 

I would throw it on the Citi card, since it sounds like you might need longer to pay it off. Could result in a couple of soft pull CLI's in the amount of time it takes you to throw money down on the balance, helping your utilization faster, and helping your score recover quicker. 

[Anonymous]

I think I remember a couple of threads saying it's better to split the BT across two cards instead of one BUT make sure that under 50% is still reporting on both cards. This was coming from a few people who said it was a bad idea to nearly max out a brand new card even it was for a BT. I will see if I can find the thread.

[kilroy8]

Have a look at the below thread for the utilization on a single card thresholds, and what points it may cost. There is also the issue of maxing out a new card right away that someone else is looking at for you. Could result in AA, I believe.

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Best-Balance-Transfer-Cards/m-p/5259303#M1554667

[Anonymous]

I can't find the thread due to so many BT threads, however correct, the issue of maxing out a brand new card (even for a BT) was in regards to AA due to the concern from not only the lender whose card you maxed out, but your other lenders as well.

The thread kilroy sent is a good one to take a look at since it has some good back-and-forth.

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@kilroy8 wrote:

Have a look at the below thread for the utilization on a single card thresholds, and what points it may cost. There is also the issue of maxing out a new card right away that someone else is looking at for you. Could result in AA, I believe.

https://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/Best-Balance-Transfer-Cards/m-p/5259303#M1554667

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[elim]

There is no way I would let a card report 80% utilization (as it would probably spook ALL of my lenders. I would probably call every lender I had, asking for an increase, so I could keep utilization down, then BT to the one's that made it happen. Keep utilization low... $10 over minimum payment is not kosher on my sheet. Keeps me nervous (and I hate being nervous in the credit game).

[SouthJamaica]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I will be processing a BT in the next week or so and was wondering if I should put the entire 6k on my citi (7.5k Limit) or if I should put some on my discover (6.2k limit). Citi 0% BT expires Dec 1, 2019 and Discover would expire in June or July next year.

Since I wouldn’t be able to get the utilization down on Citi until next year, I was wondering if it would make more sense to split the BTs between Citi and Discover? I will be making 10$ over minimum while putting the most towards Fidelity which needs to be paid off by December.

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Yes it makes more sense to split it (3600 on Citi, 2400 on Discover) so as not to kill your scores with 80% utilization on a single card

[Anonymous]

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@DeeBee78 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

I will be processing a BT in the next week or so and was wondering if I should put the entire 6k on my citi (7.5k Limit) or if I should put some on my discover (6.2k limit). Citi 0% BT expires Dec 1, 2019 and Discover would expire in June or July next year.

Since I wouldn’t be able to get the utilization down on Citi until next year, I was wondering if it would make more sense to split the BTs between Citi and Discover? I will be making 10$ over minimum while putting the most towards Fidelity which needs to be paid off by December.

---

Do you need the highest FICO score any time in the near future? If so, having balances reporting on more than 50% of your cards will be an issue, as it lowers your FICO 08 score a bit. Having over 90% utilization on a card also hurts your score, but no one really knows which has more impact. 

I would throw it on the Citi card, since it sounds like you might need longer to pay it off. Could result in a couple of soft pull CLI's in the amount of time it takes you to throw money down on the balance, helping your utilization faster, and helping your score recover quicker. 

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I don’t necessarily need the highest score, I was just worried if Citi would possibly AA me for making slightly over the minimum payments on a high utilization card for the first 6 months.

my overall utilization across all cards is only 12% so that’s good there. I can pay it off before the offer expires, I just wouldn’t be able to pay a lot towards it till January.

I think on the safe side I will split the BTs between Citi and Discover since I couldn’t really pay it down till January. Thank you all!