Large payment = Decreased limit?

[McNugget]

My utilization is high at 44%, but I've budgeted to PIF all cards by the end of Feb 2020.  That will involve some large payments on some of the accounts (one is a third of the entire limit).  

Am I risking decreases if I pay one large sum on a card vs paying smaller amounts spread amongst all of the cards every month?  

[Priory_Man]

Who are your cards with and how long have you been carrying the balances?
I ran up a few cards a number of years ago and paid several thousand off in one go and the CC companies never battered an eye, in fact BoA and Citi increased my CL once they had been paid off. YMMV however.

[McNugget]

Capital One, Citi, and Chase.  Cards are 4yo, 2yo, and 2yo respectively with balances being carried for a year.  

I had stopped using them for a few months to pay down balances, but then I found this forum that said to keep them in use.  Now I use them all every month, but pay all of my current charges +extra to pay them down.  I don't *think* I need to worry because Capital One just approved me for a new card and Citi gave me a CLI last month.  

[Anonymous]

FYI, if you were carrying a balance simply making your monthly payment counts as use/activity.

[LittleSal]

Making a large sum payment is not a problem. I do it all the time.
Paying only the min payment due would be more of a risk of CLD.

[HeavenOhio]

Chase is known for balance chasing. But I don't think this is a situation that would cause them to do it. Capital One is known for tolerating high balances dragged out over long periods. Plus, it's not likely that they would have issued you a new card if they thought your balance was a problem.

I'd suggest paying down your balances as early as you can. That'll avoid paying any more interest than necessary. If you have a big chunk of money, give it to them. If you can sneak in small amounts from time to time, that's cool too.

[Jnbmom]

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@Anonymous wrote:

FYI, if you were carrying a balance simply making your monthly payment counts as use/activity.

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+1

Yes don't just use a card to show activity if you are already carrying a balance! Pay down your debt if you have the means.

[McNugget]

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@Jnbmom wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

FYI, if you were carrying a balance simply making your monthly payment counts as use/activity.

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+1

Yes don't just use a card to show activity if you are already carrying a balance! Pay down your debt if you have the means.

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Oh goodness, no.  I was using my debit card for things like groceries and gas, but now I use my credit card and pay the total amount I charged during the period plus a hefty additional amount to actually pay down the balance.  

[Anonymous]

On most cards you will lose your grace period on new purchases if you carry a balance.