Balance Juggling

[Bravo7Dash2]

The credit limit on three of my cc accounts was recently lowered pushing my utilization up. Currently I have Discover at about 70% with a $110 min payment, a Chase at over 90% with a $100 min payment and a WF at over 90% with a $50 min payment. I want to bring down my DTI and bring up my scores.

If I pay off one card and transfer the other two to a cc with a higher credit limit, will that boost my score at all? I understand I still have the same debt but am wondering if not having two maxed out cards will help at all. By moving two cards to one and paying off another I'd also be at AZEO.

The hesitation is that the higher limit card has a 25% interest rate. But if I bite that bullet for a few months I can probably eventually transfer it to a 0% interest card and pay it off. The short term goal right now is getting approved for a mortgage by May.

Any info to further my understanding will be appreciated.

[JoeRockhead]

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@Bravo7Dash2 wrote:

The credit limit on three of my cc accounts was recently lowered pushing my utilization up. Currently I have Discover at about 70% with a $110 min payment, a Chase at over 90% with a $100 min payment and a WF at over 90% with a $50 min payment. I want to bring down my DTI and bring up my scores.

If I pay off one card and transfer the other two to a cc with a higher credit limit, will that boost my score at all? I understand I still have the same debt but am wondering if not having two maxed out cards will help at all. By moving two cards to one and paying off another I'd also be at AZEO.

The hesitation is that the higher limit card has a 25% interest rate. But if I bite that bullet for a few months I can probably eventually transfer it to a 0% interest card and pay it off. The short term goal right now is getting approved for a mortgage by May.

Any info to further my understanding will be appreciated.

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You're kind of in an awkward, and tough position because while putting something on a card with 25% isn't good, at all. Having one card at 90%+ is a killer to your scores, having two of them is even worse and depending on how long you've been carrying them at that level could (sounds like it already has) result in AA, CLDs from your creditors. Bringing those UTIs down would be a priority for me over the 25% apr (but that's a tough call) so you could focus on getting those UTIs down, then getting the debt payed down as quickly as you can from there. Don't know that getting another new account is going to be a good idea if you're wanting a mortgage in a few months. If the mortgage isn't an urgent priority right now, you might want to consider putting that off for a year so it gives you enough time to get a better handle on the current situation.

[SouthJamaica]

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@Bravo7Dash2 wrote:

The credit limit on three of my cc accounts was recently lowered pushing my utilization up. Currently I have Discover at about 70% with a $110 min payment, a Chase at over 90% with a $100 min payment and a WF at over 90% with a $50 min payment. I want to bring down my DTI and bring up my scores.

If I pay off one card and transfer the other two to a cc with a higher credit limit, will that boost my score at all? I understand I still have the same debt but am wondering if not having two maxed out cards will help at all. By moving two cards to one and paying off another I'd also be at AZEO.

The hesitation is that the higher limit card has a 25% interest rate. But if I bite that bullet for a few months I can probably eventually transfer it to a 0% interest card and pay it off. The short term goal right now is getting approved for a mortgage by May.

Any info to further my understanding will be appreciated.

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Yes it would increase your scores.

[Bravo7Dash2]

The card with a higher limit has been open for several years, so I wouldn't be opening any new accounts. Once my score rebounds, maybe a year or so from now, I was thinking of applying for a card with a 0 interest balance transfer offer. Getting moved out by summer is imperative. I've managed to get rid of all my cc balances but these three and have about $3000 to fully pay off one. I'm really trying to get to at least a 700 mid or above score. I'm at 680 now with one recent paid off card not reporting yet.