Question about credit utilization

[Anonymous]

Here are my list of cards, 

1. Discover $2000
2. Quicksilver $3300
3. Quicksilver $1500
4. Credit one $400
5. AMazon $3400
6. Paypal $700
7. Fingerhut $1000

Total credit $12300. I have zero balance in my all cards but i maxed out $3300 Quicksilver. How is it going to affect my score? 

[Skye12329]

Your score will take a hit, but once you pay it down it will go back up. It will take a hit mainly because it doesnt look good maxxing out a card even if you have a bit of available credit total.

[Anonymous]

Ideally you should be using your card up to 30% or below of any limit on a card.  Maxing out that paticular card is going to be a huge hit on your reports. Although you are a little below the 30% of the total, it still is going to be huge.

[FocusedAndDetermined]

Agree with Yes-Its-Me.  It's going to be a fairly significant hit.

If possible one should spread purchase over a couple of cards, thus avoiding maxing out a single card.

Once you get it paid down/off your scores will rebound.

[Anonymous]

See, this is where I get very confused. I was going to post on this earlier but since the same topic is here, I will add 2 ceents.  Someone on board said it is better to max out one card and then PIF to get earlier CLI and look good to issuer.  Is this true or false?

[NRB525]

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@Anonymous wrote:

See, this is where I get very confused. I was going to post on this earlier but since the same topic is here, I will add 2 ceents.  Someone on board said it is better to max out one card and then PIF to get earlier CLI and look good to issuer.  Is this true or false?

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This is a tactic I would recommend. If you can PIF a $3,300 card, more power to you, and you will see CLI eventually. Most commonly, however, it's more realistic to max out a $300, $500, or $1k card to PIF.

As to letting the one Capital One $3,300 card get maxed out, while all others are zero, yes, there may be some impact to the credit score, but as long as this is paid down in a few months, it's not worth worrying about the impact to the credit score. There were likely items to be purchased, and putting it all on this card may be to maximize rewards earning. (paying interest on that balance negates most or all, or more than all of the points/cashback earnings results, so that is why PIF is best).

What we don't know yet is OP's scores. Likely below 700, likely not apping any time soon, so the concern over "what will my score do" is probably not the significant issue. Keeping utilization lower, yes, that is recommended, however I've ignored that many times to take advantage of 0% and low APR BT offers, BT onto a card for large amounts to save interest cost.

As with all things credit, there often are several answers to any particular question, and the only fixed rule is: Never miss a payment.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

See, this is where I get very confused. I was going to post on this earlier but since the same topic is here, I will add 2 ceents.  Someone on board said it is better to max out one card and then PIF to get earlier CLI and look good to issuer.  Is this true or false?

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This is true BUT you want to PIF BEFORE the statement cuts. That way the card gets reported to the CBs as $0 balance yet your lender still sees you putting a lot of spend through the card therefor justifying a CLI. They like to see a need for a CLI so if you spend a lot they see you need it. Just make sure you don't let the statement cut with a high UTI because that greatly affects your FICO scores.

[Anonymous]

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@NRB525 wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

See, this is where I get very confused. I was going to post on this earlier but since the same topic is here, I will add 2 ceents.  Someone on board said it is better to max out one card and then PIF to get earlier CLI and look good to issuer.  Is this true or false?

---

This is a tactic I would recommend. If you can PIF a $3,300 card, more power to you, and you will see CLI eventually. Most commonly, however, it's more realistic to max out a $300, $500, or $1k card to PIF.

As to letting the one Capital One $3,300 card get maxed out, while all others are zero, yes, there may be some impact to the credit score, but as long as this is paid down in a few months, it's not worth worrying about the impact to the credit score. There were likely items to be purchased, and putting it all on this card may be to maximize rewards earning. (paying interest on that balance negates most or all, or more than all of the points/cashback earnings results, so that is why PIF is best).

What we don't know yet is OP's scores. Likely below 700, likely not apping any time soon, so the concern over "what will my score do" is probably not the significant issue. Keeping utilization lower, yes, that is recommended, however I've ignored that many times to take advantage of 0% and low APR BT offers, BT onto a card for large amounts to save interest cost.

As with all things credit, there often are several answers to any particular question, and the only fixed rule is: Never miss a payment.

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+1000 everything said here is true. Score inpact is temporary, pros might outway the cons. It all depends on the situation. As he said above rule #1: NEVER MISS A PAYMENT

[Anonymous]

my scores are 720 equifax, 698 transunion, 704 experian

[NRB525]

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@Anonymous wrote:
my scores are 720 equifax, 698 transunion, 704 experian

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You should consider moving beyond (as in closing) the Credit One card with scores like that

Pay down the $3,300, in one month if you can, over time if you have a reasonable interest rate, so it gets down below 30% on the card again, and then start considering whether you want to app for other cards:

Chase Freedom? Citi DoubleCash? AMEX Blue Cash Everyday? BofA 1-2-3 Rewards? Your file is on the edge if not already able to qualify for these, unless there is some other hidden negative in the past which blocks / annoys certain lenders.