What should I do?

[Anonymous]

Hi! I'd like some advice. The main things that I get on my credit reports in regards to negative aspects of my credit history are short length of credit history, high use of my available revolving credit, and too many accounts with a balance. I know that I can't do anything about my short length of history except for wait it out, but I want to do all that I can to improve my other aspects. As of this morning this is what was on my brand new Experian credit report.

Wells Fargo CC $343 bal $5000 limit (22% apr, 0% apr on balance transfers)
Citibank/Wickes CC $2047 bal $2500 limit (25% apr)
Dell computer CC $1500 bal $5000 limit (21% apr)

This is in addition to my car loan, and the low dollar balances on two other CC's that I've already paid off this month, but haven't updated yet. I think the high balance/limit ratio on the Citibank card is main thing hurting me that I can actually do something about. I brain stormed today and decided to pay off my Wells Fargo C.C., wait it to update on Monday, and then transfer the entire balance of the Citibank card to the Wells Fargo card. I figure that working with resulting balance to limit ratio of 40% will look much better on my report than working with the 80% on the Citibank cc and 6% wells fargo cc, and that I'd be saving an additional $70 a month by not having to pay the monthly statement for Citibank. I'm considering paying an additional couple hundred extra dollars on the Wells Fargo cc after all this has been done just in case the crediting bureau's might view the balance transfer negatively. Any thoughts on what this might do for my score, or suggestions if I should do something completely different? I'd have $3000 left in the bank after paying the initial $343 on my Wells Fargo cc, but I am trying to save to buy a home so I want to use as little of it as possible. Also, another thing to take into consideration is that Wickes is now bankrupt, so Citibank will not increase my limit. Also, I don't have any other cc's with a 0% apr for balance transfers. I have no late payments on record, and have never had a bankruptcy. My current scores are Experian 711 Equifax 738 as of July 5th, and Trans Union as of April 22nd.

[Anonymous]

FICO likes to see all CC UTIL under 10%........they also like to see some with a Bal $0.........your UTIL is not all that bed but If you pay off the smaller one you should see a score raise.

Any loan other then CC only counts 10% toward scores.

When TF to another CC....you need to look at the cost!    I only TF when it is a lower rate and no or low TF charges..

Total history is important  but FICO also looks at other history.....if your longest history is 10 years & then receive new credit of any kind....it will delute your history.....BUT oldest account is still in play!

CCs count more toward scores then any other loan!!!!   you might want to concider applying for another CC......this will help UTIL. But do not go nuts applying!!!!

As to paying CC.....pay as much as you can on the highest CC int.rate.......also if you pay when the statment comes out  you will save on int. for each month. Remember that int is charged per day not month.

Get CITI down!

Message Edited by HappyDays on 07-12-2008 02:29 PM

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

FICO likes to see all CC UTIL under 10%........they also like to see some with a Bal $0.........your UTIL is not all that bed but If you pay off the smaller one you should see a score raise.

Any loan other then CC only counts 10% toward scores.

When TF to another CC....you need to look at the cost! I only TF when it is a lower rate and no or low TF charges..

Total history is important but FICO also looks at other history.....if your longest history is 10 years & then receive new credit of any kind....it will delute your history.....BUT oldest account is still in play!

CCs count more toward scores then any other loan!!!! you might want to concider applying for another CC......this will help UTIL. But do not go nuts applying!!!!

As to paying CC.....pay as much as you can on the highest CC int.rate.......also if you pay when the statment comes out you will save on int. for each month. Remember that int is charged per day not month.

Get CITI down!

Message Edited by HappyDays on 07-12-2008 02:29 PM

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There would be 3% charge ($61.29) for a transfer onto the Wells Fargo. It seems like it would be worth doing it because I would have 0% interest until December, and even then the interest would be only 22.5% which is less than what I'm paying on the Citibank CC. I only have four years of credit history, and the Citibank card is the youngest one that I have. I wouldn't close the account, but seeing how the retailer that the card is for is bankrupt and not issuing anymore credit, I figure it'll look better to close it or to at least pay it off. While applying for a new card would help my overall utilization, it wouldn't help with the utilization of the citibank card in particular, which a few home lenders have told me looks pretty ugly on my credit report. I am considering another major credit card seeing how all that I have right now are either Visa or retailer cards (I figure its better to get it now while the other cards are still relatively new, so it'll "dilute" my credit history less than it would a few years from now). Any suggestion on what company that card should be if I do decide to get it? I'm thinking American Express or Mastercard.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

FICO likes to see all CC UTIL under 10%........they also like to see some with a Bal $0.........your UTIL is not all that bed but If you pay off the smaller one you should see a score raise.

Any loan other then CC only counts 10% toward scores.

When TF to another CC....you need to look at the cost! I only TF when it is a lower rate and no or low TF charges..

Total history is important but FICO also looks at other history.....if your longest history is 10 years & then receive new credit of any kind....it will delute your history.....BUT oldest account is still in play!

CCs count more toward scores then any other loan!!!! you might want to concider applying for another CC......this will help UTIL. But do not go nuts applying!!!!

As to paying CC.....pay as much as you can on the highest CC int.rate.......also if you pay when the statment comes out you will save on int. for each month. Remember that int is charged per day not month.

Get CITI down!

Message Edited by HappyDays on 07-12-2008 02:29 PM

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There would be 3% charge ($61.29) for a transfer onto the Wells Fargo. It seems like it would be worth doing it because I would have 0% interest until December, and even then the interest would be only 22.5% which is less than what I'm paying on the Citibank CC. I only have four years of credit history, and the Citibank card is the youngest one that I have. I wouldn't close the account, but seeing how the retailer that the card is for is bankrupt and not issuing anymore credit, I figure it'll look better to close it or to at least pay it off. While applying for a new card would help my overall utilization, it wouldn't help with the utilization of the citibank card in particular, which a few home lenders have told me looks pretty ugly on my credit report. I am considering another major credit card seeing how all that I have right now are either Visa or retailer cards (I figure its better to get it now while the other cards are still relatively new, so it'll "dilute" my credit history less than it would a few years from now). Any suggestion on what company that card should be if I do decide to get it? I'm thinking American Express or Mastercard.

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Also, I forgot to include this snippet that I found on another thread in regards to how reporting agencies calculate your score...

-30% affects Utilization. It is best to have several accounts with low balances distributed then it is to have fewer accounts maxed out. To figure utilization: Balance (divided) by Credit Limit = percentage. Lower than 10% recommended per account, this is one of the fastest means for increasing the over all credit score.