Guesstimate of Score Increase

[AUBURN32]

I want to apply for credit in May and want to get my scores as high as possible.  TU is 693 and EQ is 663, both reporting identical information.  I know that my CC util is hurting my score.  Both cards are at 50% util.  Can anybody take a stab at how many points my scores can go up by mid May, due to paying off the balances today and getting my util to 0-1%?

[fused]

Scores changes are difficult to predict. That said, can you give us more info?

Do you have any bad stuff on your reports? Lates, collections, charge-offs, public records, etc? If so, how old and severe (lates) are they?

How long is your credit history? What is the average age of your accounts?

ETA: I assume the scores you posted are FICO's, right?

[AUBURN32]

No bad stuff at all.  I have 2 credit cards totalling $10,000 CL at 50% util.  Always paid on time. 

3 year old mortgage, again, always paid on time.  That's it for credit.

AAoA is 8 years.

Yes, the scores are FICOs.

I'm suspecting the util is the culprit.  Just trying to predict where I can reasonably expect to be in two months by reducing my util to 0.

[corkyduckfan]

I am not an expert, but I have dealt with a lot of credit stuff myself.  I suspect that if you got your utilization down below 30%, your FICO would go up between 25-40 points.  If you get if between 1-9% utilization, it could go up by 60 or so.  Again, just my best guess.

[fused]

You might lose some points for having no CC's reporting a balance. You could have one card reporting a $0 balance and the other reporting a few dollars. With this scenario, I guess your scores will improve by at least 30-40 points. Of course, the previous poster could be right too. YMMV!!!!

[tbolt2]

Equifax has a credit score estimator. One option is to see what changes CC utilization can have on the score. Based on that estimator, you might see a score increase of 1 point for every 1% decrease in utilization until you get down to 1% utilization.

At zero utilization you may see a 25+ point DROP in your score.....

My current score with 50% util is 585

My estimated score with 1% = between 625 and 645

My estimated score with 0% = between 561 and 581