Balance Transfer Question - will this lower my FICO

[Anonymous]

Hi there -

I have a Citi card with a substantial balance CL 38,500 - balance 35k

I have a Sears card with a CL of $9,600 and a balance of -0-

I would like to start chipping away at the Citi card w/the balance transfer offer at a much lower percent (2.9%) on a portion of the Citi balance which is at 9.9%

Does this make sense? Should I only transfer a certain percentage of the Sears card at a time so as not to make it look maxed out?

Will this negatively affect my score (which I just got to 703 - we want to buy a house in Oct/Nov this year)

Any advice would be appreciated!

[Anonymous]

I'd see if you can get a credit line increase and transfer as much as you can to the lower apr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You save about $50/month just by transferring $9,000. Just watch out to see how much the BT fees are up front. I have been playing the BT game for years to save money. I get my debt paid down much faster using them. If you have a BT offer and do not use it, it's like throwing away money.

As far as the effect of a BT? Haven't seen a scoring effect that mattered. Lower debt has a far greater effect on score. If it helps you pay it down faster, do it.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the advice - just want to get it paid off asap!

[Anonymous]

I would transfer to lower rate....look to see when that rate changes & what the new rate will be!!!

If the rate goes up to what CITI is now....only transfer what you can pay off during the low int. Otherwise you will be paying to transfer & will not benifit.

FICO scores on total CL minus  total UTIL.  It is always good to have cards with Bal $0