Card balances

[Anonymous]

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@HeavenOhio wrote: 

Also note that when FICO looks at individual card utilization, it looks at your card whose utilization is the highest.

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Would you expand on this please?

[SouthJamaica]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@HeavenOhio wrote: 

Also note that when FICO looks at individual card utilization, it looks at your card whose utilization is the highest.

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Would you expand on this please?

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If you have 3 cards, one of which is at 28%, another of which is at 20%, and one of which is at 65%, FICO formulas will slam you for the 65% no matter what you do with the others, on the individual card utilization factor. It gives you a black mark for having one card at a bad number. And it doesn't even matter which card.

You get penalized for the card that's got the worst percentage.  If the 65% card was a card with a $1000 limit which had a $650 balance, and the other cards had much $20,000 limits, it wouldn't matter.  A high percentage on any one card hurts your score a lot.

So percentagewise you should bring them all down evenly.

[armywifelong03]

Thanks for the input, guys! Our scores lowest score right now is 684, we just want to see some growth and be over 700 at time of application.
So my next question would be, at what percentages are there increases? Obviously I can’t get them all to 30%in a month, so what should be my first goal?

[DollyLama]

Your first goal thresholds would be <68.9%, then <48.9%, followed by <28.9%, once you hit this threshold, then try to zero balance a card at a time, until you have only 1 reporting a balance at statement cut. You will notice the biggest differences at <28.9% (at least for me it did), and if possible <8.9% on the 1 card. 

[armywifelong03]

Thanks for clarifying! On my cards already below 68%, should I just make minimum on those until all of my cards are below and then move on? I just want to maximize my efforts for the next 6 paydays until we apply in December. I’m, obviously, not going to pay them all to zero with our NFCU.

[Anonymous]

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@SouthJamaica wrote:

 You get penalized for the card that's got the worst percentage  ... A high percentage on any one card hurts your score a lot.

So percentagewise you should bring them all down evenly.

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@Anonymous if I am understanding you correctly, someone with 2 cards @ 85% plus another 2 cards @ 45% would be better advised to work on the two higher ones vs. first getting the two lower ones under 29%? 

@Anonymous there a weighted scale somewhere that shows scoring factors @ <89, 69, 49, 29, 9? Or, as there are sure to be other factors at play, at least in a general sort of way?

[SouthJamaica]

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@armywifelong03 wrote:
Thanks for clarifying! On my cards already below 68%, should I just make minimum on those until all of my cards are below and then move on? I just want to maximize my efforts for the next 6 paydays until we apply in December. I’m, obviously, not going to pay them all to zero with our NFCU.

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Minimum + something.

Just paying minimum sends up a red flag.

[SouthJamaica]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@SouthJamaica wrote:

 You get penalized for the card that's got the worst percentage  ... A high percentage on any one card hurts your score a lot.

So percentagewise you should bring them all down evenly.

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@Anonymous if I am understanding you correctly, someone with 2 cards @ 85% plus another 2 cards @ 45% would be better advised to work on the two higher ones vs. first getting the two lower ones under 29%? 

Yes

@Anonymous there a weighted scale somewhere that shows scoring factors @ <89, 69, 49, 29, 9? Or, as there are sure to be other factors at play, at least in a general sort of way?

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     Not to my knowledge.

[Anonymous]

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@armywifelong03 wrote:
Military Star Card $3500/7500

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OK, let me tell you from personal experience - your Military Star card should be front and center!!!!  Forget your FICO, pay that MF'er off to ZERO ASAP!!!

I (w/MUCH help from the EX) maxed out our entire CL with the Star Card ($7800) and ignored it completely while taking care of other debts, unaware we were blowing off a FEDERAL DEBT and being slapped with an IRS Tax Lein (who knew???) while we file 13'd all the Star Card communications unaware of how frigging DANGEROUS it was to do this. 

BOTTOM LINE: I paid $17K on the original balance via my SSDI garnishment ($175/mo) for years before finally bargaining w/them to lift the lean completely for a one-time payment of $2500 for a total of $19500 on an original debt of $7800 before the tax lein and SSDI garnishments finally stopped.

MAKE THE STAR CARD A SERIOUS #1 PRIORITY.  Do NOT FK w/the US Gub'mint!!!!

[armywifelong03]

Wow! That sounds awful! We are definitely not ignoring it. We are paying double our minimum each month, but will be paying it off soon. Thanks!