Pay off credit cards to avoid balance chasing

[Anonymous]

Hello-

Currently have 4 credit cards with approximately 90% utilization and around $10,000.  Recently returned to work and am looking to pay them down.  The problem is if they are paid off all at one time they will most probably drop my limits.  Just wondering if there is a strategy to keep my limits while paying them down?  Right now I am thinking about paying them all halfway down, wait a month, then get them below 10%.  Does this seem to be a good way to go?  Thank you.

[Anonymous]

If they want to balance chase you, they will do it no matter how you pay it down.  It's not the pay down that triggers the balance chasing, it's the fact that there was already sustained high utilization. 

[Remedios]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hello-

Currently have 4 credit cards with approximately 90% utilization and around $10,000.  Recently returned to work and am looking to pay them down.  The problem is if they are paid off all at one time they will most probably drop my limits.  Just wondering if there is a strategy to keep my limits while paying them down?  Right now I am thinking about paying them all halfway down, wait a month, then get them below 10%.  Does this seem to be a good way to go?  Thank you.

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You've mentioned in the past having Indigo, Credit One, and Cap One.

You're not going to get balances chased by Indigo and Credit One, Cap One can go either way, but that shouldn't stop you from paying them down. 

You're probably bleeding money in fees and interest, so just do what you can to stop money loss. 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

The problem is if they are paid off all at one time they will most probably drop my limits.  Just wondering if there is a strategy to keep my limits while paying them down? 

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What makes you think they will probably drop your limits?  Outside of the high utilization accounts, what does the rest of your profile look like?  Is it clean or dirty?  Aged or young?  Thick or thin?  Utilization in and of itself doesn't often trigger balance-chasing unless there are other profile-weakening factors at play.