I’m at 54% now. I get 5k back from IRS in few weeks. What’s the best way to pay my cards and which one I need to pay down first?
There’s a list
Discover - 2975 out of 3000
Amex - 1651 out of 1700
Wells Fargo - 1450 out of 1500
Syncb - 650 out of 800
Amex - 1486 out of 1700
Barc- 1131 out of 1550
Cap one - 3500 out of 4300
Cap one 792 out of 10k
Help!!!! Thank you
There’s a list
Discover - 2975 out of 3000
Amex - 1651 out of 1700
Wells Fargo - 1450 out of 1500
Syncb - 650 out of 800
Amex - 1486 out of 1700
Barc- 1131 out of 1550
Cap one - 3500 out of 4300
Cap one 792 out of 10k
Help!!!! Thank you
@Anonymous wrote:
I’m at 54% now. I get 5k back from IRS in few weeks. What’s the best way to pay my cards and which one I need to pay down first?
There’s a list
Discover - 2975 out of 3000
Amex - 1651 out of 1700
Wells Fargo - 1450 out of 1500
Syncb - 650 out of 800
Amex - 1486 out of 1700
Barc- 1131 out of 1550
Cap one - 3500 out of 4300
Cap one 792 out of 10k
Help!!!! Thank you
Tough to say with little info. Typically, you want to attack the lower balances to knock those out. You could take out Cap1 $800, Synch $650, Barc, $1130, Amex $1650 and WF $1450 for a total of $5680. So if you save for the next few weeks and eliminate all spending you could easily knock those all out by the time you get your return. That will take care of 6 of the 9 balances.
FIRST, you gotta sock drawer all of those cards and go cash only. Manageable but will take some work.
You could get more detailed info from people on here if we had APR, any promo balances etc.
No more charges after making these payments. Just keep paying them down until they are all, individually, at least, under 28.9%. When you get to 28.9% on a card, work on paying it down further to less than 8.9%.
You need to pay something on each of these cards to get them out of maxed out territory - they are dangerously close to their limits and just begging for the creditors to take adverse action (credit limit decrease / closing account altogether).
I would use the 5K to make strategic payments on each card so to bring it below the next utilization threshold.
FYI: Thresholds are as follows:
88.9%, 68.9%, 48.9%, 28.9%, 8.9%
Red = Danger; Green = Safe
Two payment plan options: #1 if you cannot use the entire 5K; #2 if you are able to use the entire 5K
Payment Plan # 1: If you cannot spend the entire 5K, this plan will leave you with some $ left over.
Discover - 2975 out of 3000
Currently at 99% util. Bring it down to below 88.9% ($2667)
Pay minimum $310.
Amex - 1651 out of 1700
Currently at 97% util. Bring it down to below 88.9% ($1511.30)
Pay minimum of $145
Wells Fargo - 1450 out of 1500
Currently at 96.6% util. Bring it down to below 88.9% ($1333.50)
Pay minimum of $120
Syncb - 650 out of 800
Currently at 81.25% util.
Pay in full $650
Amex - 1486 out of 1700
Currently at 87% util. Bring it down to below 68.9% ($1171.30)
Pay mimimum of $320
Barc- 1131 out of 1550
Currently at 73% util. Bring it down to below 48.9% ($ 757.95)
Pay minimum of $375
Cap one - 3500 out of 4300
Currently at 81% util. Bring it down to below 68.9% ($2962.70)
Pay mimimum of $540
Cap one - 792 out of 10K
Currently at <1% util. Pay double the minimum due $70 (assumiming min due is $35).
That gives you a total payment of $2530.
Payment Plan #2: If you can afford to use the entire 5K.. (Recommended)
Discover - 2975 out of 3000
Currently at 99% util. Bring it down to below 68.9% ($2067)
Pay minimum $910.
Amex - 1651 out of 1700
Currently at 97% util. Bring it down to below 68.9% ($1171.30)
Pay minimum of $485
Wells Fargo - 1450 out of 1500
Currently at 96.6% util. Bring it down to below 68.9% ($1033.50)
Pay minimum of $420
Syncb - 650 out of 800
Currently at 81.25% util.
Pay in full $650
Amex - 1486 out of 1700
Currently at 87% util. Bring it down to below 48.9% ($831.30)
Pay mimimum of $660
Barc- 1131 out of 1550
Currently at 73% util. Bring it down to below 48.9% ($ 757.95)
Pay minimum of $375
Cap one - 3500 out of 4300
Currently at 81% util. Bring it down to below 48.9% ($2102.70)
Pay mimimum of $1400
Cap one - 792 out of 10K
Currently at <1% util. Pay $100.
That gives you a total payment of $5000
You should see a slight score boost from payment plan #1; A more significant boost from payment plan #2.
Both will bring you out of near max territory on your cards -- which is important.
Do not make any more charges.
Continue to pay down till you get all of your cards below 28.9% util.
Then you can pick one card to use and keep usage under 8.9%.
Continue to pay down the other cards until they are all either at $0 or below 8.9%
(Note: Paydown efforts are not finished until all but one are at zero).
Hard to gauge as it depends on other factors of your overall profile (derogatories, age, etc.).
If I had to guess...
Without the AU account reporting:
Current util: 54% ($13,635 total debt out of $24,550 total CL)
Util after Plan B: 35% ($8,635 total debt out of $24,550 total CL)
That's a decent drop in util and could yield anywhere between 10-20 points.
You'll see more of a gain when you pass the next threshold with a paydown to below 28.9% (reduction in total debt to below $6,874).
With AU account reporting:
Current util: 46% ($13,635 total debt out of $29,550 total CL) - Possible to see an immediate FICO gain just from reducing overall util from 54% to 46% (maybe 10 - 15 points)
Util after Plan B: 29% ($8,635 total debt out of $29,550 total CL)
You will not pass a util threshold after Plan B because you'd already be below 48.9%, and the paydown doesn't bring you below 28.9%. You might get 1-5 points here; you may get nothing. You would need to make additional payments somewhere to bring the total below 28.9% (reduce total debt to below $8,274) and maximize FICO point gain - which could be 15-30 points.
If the AU account is is old, and adds months or years to your average age of accounts, you could see a good jump in points (depending on your current age).
If the AU account is new, it will drop your average age of accounts and you may see a dip in score -- but this dip could be neutralized by reduction in util.
Just keep reaching for the next lowest util threshold.
Keep in mind, you don't want to be at the threshold, you want to be below it.
@Anonymous wrote:Awesome detailed answer, specific info for OP... provided in a kind helpful post.
I'm new, mostly a lurker-learner... member's like tmr make myFICO an awesome educational site.
KUDOS to tmr!
Thank you!! 
First: You want to be below those precentages, not exactly at those percentages. They are the threshold, which means when you reach that percentage, your score is dinged. Below each is what you want. Don't screw yourself by getting to exactly 28.9% and stopping - then wonder why you saw no score improvement.
Less than 8.9% total util is ideal and will give you the max fico points for utilization.
Utilization is 30% of your FICO:
Below 8.9% is low and seen as very good - excellent.
Between 8.9% and below 28.9% is OK.
28.9% - below 48.9% is borderline high.
48.9% and above is considered high and hurts a lot - points wise.
So yes, overall util should always be below 8.9%. You should also keep the util of individual cards in check at less than 28.9% of their limits (8.9% is better).
After you pay off your debts (all cards to below 8.9% or $0), you can squeeze out the most FICO points by only allowing small balances to report. You can do this by paying your balances down before your statements cut - the balance on your statement is what most creditors report to the bureaus. Pay it down to less than 28.9% (8.9% is better) of the total balance so it reports low util, then pay whatever is left over before the due date. Of course, there will be months of heavy use and you may not be able to do this - but try.
For example: Say we have a credit card with a $1K credit limit and a billing cycle from December 12 - January 11. We have a 25 day grace period that gives a due date of February 17th. Total balance as of January 9th is $300. That's already 30% of our $1000 credit limit. So, on January 9th - before the statement cut date, we are going to pay that $300 balance down to below 8.9% (below $89). Because we want to be below that amount, we're going to pay it down to $80. On January 11th, the statement will cut with a balance of $80 -- this is the balance that will be reported to the credit bureaus. A nice low util of 8%. We will then pay the remaining $80 balance on the card before the payment due date of February 17. If you can do this for every card to ensure the overall util remains low -- you'll see great Fico results.
I've gotten to a point that if I don't have the funds to pay the balance in full by the end of the billing cycle, I simply don't charge it (unless, of course, it's an emergency or large, pre-planned purchase). I report no more than a total of 2% util every month. The util on each individual card varies but they are all always below 8.9% of their respective limits.
Example of high vs low util:
In December (because holidays) I allowed 32% total util to report and my score dropped 28 points. I paid everything down and reported only 1.5% total util in January, my score rebounded with a 29 point gain.
I don't think you need to close Wal-Mart, or any card. Just don't use them til you get all of those balances paid down. Don't build more debt while you are in debt - You'll never get out of it. Take the cards out of your wallet if you need to... give them to your Dad to hold until you've paid them down. Whatever it takes.. lol. 4-6 months of disciplined payments and you can have them back. Self punishment.
Also - you don't have to use every card every month. Pick a favorite for daily use; pick a favorite for "special" purchases or emergency use only; and use your Wal-Mart card when you're at Wal-Mart. All other cards - leave them alone. Let them sit with zero balances. Every two or three months, just to show activity, charge something small on them (coffee and a donut?), pay it in full, then leave them alone again. Sometimes having too many cards with balances can become difficult to manage. Too many cards with balances also hurts your FICO by the way... With the number of cards you have, allowing 2 or 3 to report a small balance will give you a solid score. The rest can report $0.
As for credit line increases - you can try, but personally, I wouldnt. I'd wait til your cards pass the 28.9% threshold. Don't bring attention to your high balances by asking for more credit - it makes you look like a risky borrower. You're also likely to be denied anyway because of high usage. If you pay them down first, then ask, you've proven an ability to handle a high balance which may help to justify granting you more credit.