Rookie mistake to watch out for - BT to stay under threshold, forgot the BT fee %

[BM3]

So now I actually have to pony up real cash to cancel out the 3% and get under the threshold i wanted. So stupid =/

[NRB525]

Thanks for sharing. It is indeed good advice to know about.

I’ve near-maxed a number of large BT limits back in the day. The high utilization is bad for scores, but can be good for saving interest cost, if borrowing is necessary.

How much is your BT? What is your intended pay down rate?

[Jnbmom]

I have utilized BT deals to save money, yes I take a score hit but it bounces back and I save money in the end.

While scores are important I think we sometimes focus more on what FICO is going to do, then our financial well-being .

[longtimelurker]

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@Jnbmom wrote:
I have utilized BT deals to save money, yes I take a score hit but it bounces back and I save money in the end.

While scores are important I think we sometimes focus more on what FICO is going to do, then our financial well-being .

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AZEO all the time being exhibit A for this!

[Loquat]

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@Jnbmom wrote:
I have utilized BT deals to save money, yes I take a score hit but it bounces back and I save money in the end.

While scores are important I think we sometimes focus more on what FICO is going to do, then our financial well-being .

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@Jnbmom +1  There was a time when I was just as you described.   Once I bought my house I started to care a lot less about what my score was doing.  As long as I'm above 700 I'm good as I know that's high enough for me to qualify for decent financing on a car.   The rest of what goes on is pointless to me as I have no intentions on buying anything else that I'll need an optimized score for.  

If for some reason there's a card that comes out that I somehow get declined for, well that's just a reminder that I have too many to begin with and another one isn't necessary.  

[Jnbmom]

@Loquat 

That was me and now am I as you described , my scores are above 700,  and I have more lines than I will ever use. We had a few purchases and expenses that have came up and we are just using some nice BT deals and saving a little money. Yes our utilizations may take a hit individually , but we keep overall under 8.9%, so I am okay with it if it can save some money.

Funny just this week I found myself not checking my scoring sites as I normally do 😊

[Anonymous]

OP Unless you plan to app for a new product between now and then, I wouldn't rush into anything for only 3%. Your score will bounce back when it reaches that threshold naturally. 

[Aim_High]

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@BM3 wrote:

So now I actually have to pony up real cash to cancel out the 3% and get under the threshold i wanted. So stupid =/

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Thanks for sharing your learning experience with others on the forums.  Admitting our mistakes and learning experiences is as much or more important than sharing our victories. 

I spent years doing the BT thing and yeah, you've always got to factor in a buffer to keep yourself below the 100% CL when everything posts.  I usually tried to leave a little additional buffer on top of what should be necessary when I had to use most of a credit limit. 

Good tip.

[Anonymous]

I max out new cards, not on BTs but with purchases. I've taken a 40 pt drop on maxouts, but don't care what it does to my score. I still end up near 800 anyway while taking advantage of my full line.