@Brickbybrick wrote:Good evening everyone,
I had a 740 credit score and was ecstatic. All the cards I used to dream about having I now do but recently my score dropped 100 points.
I made a very poor decision. I took a cash advance on my DCU Platinum card for 10k because they said there was no fee for doing so.I had an idea for a free 10k loan. Take the cash advance on the DCU plat then get a visa with a 0% into promo...
Two mistakes, not one actually.
Took the 10k on the DCU, balance was transferred to my new Wells Fargo 0% card. The limits on the cards were 10k, so utilization skyrocketed when one of the cards was at 100%. I thought it was total utilization for which I am at like 15%.
My score went from 740 to 640. Unsure how to get back into the good graces of the bureaus.
American Express $8000 ($45,000 Limit)
Wells Fargo $5400 ($11,000 Limit)
DCU $4557 ($10,000 Limit)
The rest are paid in full each month. I only have $9k cash, not sure if paying the Wells Fargo and DCU will be enough to increase my credit. Please advise. So down about this.
Aggregate usage is an important part of scoring metrics but IMO they should be taken with a grain of salt as they give people a false sense of peace and tranquility. High individual reported card usage is more important to keep in check as it can quickly disturb the peace.
Generally, for most people, anytime they pass the threshold of 30% usage on a single card, they'll see a score drop. Go over 50%, even more of a score drop, going maxed out (90%+) on a single card will result in a significant drop. It's a red flag that indicates financial distress. Mix a maxed out card with higher usage on a few other cards and it starts to paint the picture of the possibility of future default, resulting in plummeting scores. Would your scores be as affected if your aggregate usage was below 5%? Probably not as much but would still sting.
Best fix for this is to reduce your reported balances. As they come down (individually) to below 50%, and 30% you'll see your scores come back up. Get them each under 10% and you'll see even bigger gains.
On a side note, taking any kind of cash advances is also generally a big red flag to lenders. My advice there is to forget it's even an option at all unless it's an absolute emergency such as you are stranded somewhere and have no other options available to secure cash. In that case always pay it back in full at your earliest convenience.
Hello, thank you so much for your response. That's exactly what happened, I thought it was the aggregate that mattered, Ive paid the advance off right away and will NEVER use it again. I'll pay the Wells Fargo and DCU card to under 30% today. Fingers crossed I ever reach 700 again 
Thank you so much for the advice!!
Scores bounce back within 1-2 reports of it being paid. Utilization doesn't have a memory, you'll be fine once its paid. Good lesson learned tho
As @JoeRockhead mentioned it's a red flag for lenders to see a maxed out card and a cash advance. But to max out a card FOR a cash advance is getting into the adverse action realm. I've seen lenders close accounts for less. I would suggest getting everything paid down as quickly as possible.
All great advice so far. One thing I wanted to point out to you: though there may have been no fee for the cash advance, I'm sure there was still an interest charge on it, so watch out for trailing interest on the next statement or two after you pay off the DCU card.
