Which Card to Pay First?

[Anonymous]

I'm rebuilding. I have a FICO score of 570 and several credit cards with balances. The Cap One card is open, current and usuable. The other cards are current but closed, and are all on a set payment plan. I have an extra $1,000 to throw at the debt but I'm not sure what to pay first. All cards are at 0% interest except Cap One, which is 23%. Here's the breakdown: 

Capital One                  $694.00 / Credit Limit $750

Comenity Forever 21  $318.00

Comenity Overstock   $639.00

Comenity Ulta              $645.00

Synchrony HSN            $182.00

Amazon Store Card     $604.00

Should I pay off the Cap One, since it will give me some available credit on my report, or pay off two of the closed cards since those factor as maxed out under FICO?

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I'm rebuilding. I have a FICO score of 570 and several credit cards with balances. The Cap One card is open, current and usuable. The other cards are current but closed, and are all on a set payment plan. I have an extra $1,000 to throw at the debt but I'm not sure what to pay first. Here's the breakdown: 

Capital One                  $694.00 / Credit Limit $750

Comenity Forever 21  $318.00

Comenity Overstock   $639.00

Comenity Ulta              $645.00

Synchrony HSN            $182.00

Amazon Store Card     $604.00

Should I pay off the Cap One, since it will give me some available credit on my report, or pay off two of the closed cards since those factor as maxed out under FICO?

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It depends on your goals/needs.   If you need to charge up to $750 on a credit card where using a card makes things much easier(e.g. car rental/hotel) freeing up the only open card makes sense.   If you want to reduce ongoing payments, going after the highest APR card is the thing to do.   Other solutions are better for increasing FICO score, but this may well be a case where Finances > FICO

[AllZero]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I'm rebuilding. I have a FICO score of 570 and several credit cards with balances. The Cap One card is open, current and usuable. The other cards are current but closed, and are all on a set payment plan. I have an extra $1,000 to throw at the debt but I'm not sure what to pay first. Here's the breakdown: 

Capital One                  $694.00 / Credit Limit $750

Comenity Forever 21  $318.00

Comenity Overstock   $639.00

Comenity Ulta              $645.00

Synchrony HSN            $182.00

Amazon Store Card     $604.00

Should I pay off the Cap One, since it will give me some available credit on my report, or pay off two of the closed cards since those factor as maxed out under FICO?

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Hmm... lots of routes you can take. I'm guessing your APR for most or all your cards are +20%?

I would guess pay to zero your only open card; 1. To stop accrued interest fees if you were revolving a balance 2. To regain your grace period if you were carrying a balance. 3. To be able to use the card since it is your only open card.

Then, pay off/down any other low dollar closed account(s).

[babygirl1256]

@Anonymous I could certainly pay CapOne and "keep" it in a positive status. Then pay the lowest balanced card next.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I'm rebuilding. I have a FICO score of 570 and several credit cards with balances. The Cap One card is open, current and usuable. The other cards are current but closed, and are all on a set payment plan. I have an extra $1,000 to throw at the debt but I'm not sure what to pay first. All cards are at 0% interest except Cap One, which is 23%. Here's the breakdown: 

Capital One                  $694.00 / Credit Limit $750

Comenity Forever 21  $318.00

Comenity Overstock   $639.00

Comenity Ulta              $645.00

Synchrony HSN            $182.00

Amazon Store Card     $604.00

Should I pay off the Cap One, since it will give me some available credit on my report, or pay off two of the closed cards since those factor as maxed out under FICO?

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Are the two cards "closed" or "charged off"? If they are closed, they are not considered maxxed out. Once you pay them off, though the credit limit will no longer factor in.

I would definitely fincances over fico and pay off Cap One. Then work on the closed or charged off cards.

[Anonymous]

None of the cards are charged off, just closed. Thanks for your input. 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I'm rebuilding. I have a FICO score of 570 and several credit cards with balances. The Cap One card is open, current and usuable. The other cards are current but closed, and are all on a set payment plan. I have an extra $1,000 to throw at the debt but I'm not sure what to pay first. All cards are at 0% interest except Cap One, which is 23%. Here's the breakdown: 

Capital One                  $694.00 / Credit Limit $750

Comenity Forever 21  $318.00

Comenity Overstock   $639.00

Comenity Ulta              $645.00

Synchrony HSN            $182.00

Amazon Store Card     $604.00

Should I pay off the Cap One, since it will give me some available credit on my report, or pay off two of the closed cards since those factor as maxed out under FICO?

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If it were me I'd likely knock that small Synch balance out of the way and be done with it, along with Forever21. Next I'd pay Cap1 $394 knocking it down to 40%, then using what's left to pay down on the card of your choice. Preferably the one with the highest interest rate.

That said there are various other routes one could take that suits their needs better, perhaps paying each one equally for instance.

[Anonymous]

I like @Anonymous idea. If it were me, I'd pay off HSN and Forever 21 and be done with them, then throw the other $500 at the open CapOne card. It gets two cards to zero and out of your hair, and pays down your open card to about 25%. That open card is at 92%, considered maxed out. You'll cross three usage breakpoints and lose the maxed out status, which should buy you some points and also make CapOne breathe more easily in regard to your balance.