How high did your FICO go after paying off CC's?

[BruceP]

I can tell you that it definitely makes a difference.  We were major league in debt (thats a capital M on major), due to me losing my job due to a medical condition.

I was the breadwinner, so the loss was massive, and I loaded on debt trying to keep things in place.

Now that things have somewhat stabilized (due to my wife), I am trying to get back from under everything.   I paid off most of my CC debt, about 70% and saw a jump from

620 to 720.   Now I did pay off a lot of debt (> 75K), but  before the medical issues, my score was 790, so I rode it all the way down, and am now trying to ride it up.

I hope.......

[BruceP]

An advisor I used to help me, told me the break point for most credit agencies is 30%.  Getting below that gives a big jump, generally less as you decrease from there, though of course, it depends greatly on what your finances really look like.

As they say, YMMV

[lloyd1981]

I have been using a pretty complex Excel spread sheet covering amounts due, when paid, when due, anticipated amount due with calculated interest, etc., for a number of years. About a year ago, I set a 9% goal for the few cards I use and know exactly when and by how much I exceed that amount. After all, I started writing financial projections for my own company within months of purchasing the first Mac in May, 1984, using MS original version of Excel, named MultiPlan. Not new to this.

I went through some bad times after Wilma and Katrina (which DID hit Dade County, Florida, on its way around the Gulf to LA). My score finally hit 703. Paid down to almost zero three of the five card accounts I have and my score immediately dropped to 692. My Chase account recently went up by $40.00 and my score jumped to 701.

You will notice that there is a scrolling list of credit cards at the top of this page. I have been the sole guarantor of an American Express Corporate account, later changed to Business account because of AmEx relisting accounts with less than a certain number of employees as "Business" rather than "Corporate," even though I was the head of a corporation. Opened my/our account in 1980. Still open, in good standing, with a "no set limit" tag. Have charged as much as $20,000.00 in one month and paid it off by the due date the following month. I wrote FICO about that list of business cards they recommend and asked them since they include those cards as part of their suggested higher-quality credit accounts, why is it that they never allow my perfect pay since 1980 to affect my score. Answer -- none! Asked before. Nada. They simply don't care. So, pay off what you will. Good luck if it really affects your score. I wait for my next set of zero balance lines to lower my score once again.

[SullyinCT]

So right now I have credit scores of 624 (Experian), 657 (Equifax) and 652 (Transunion).  I have two credit cards with low credit limits (unsecured 300 and secured 226). Both balances are more than 30 percent of the credit limit.  If I brought it down to under 10 percent, how much of an increase can I expect on my scores? I'd like to get my scores in the 700 range (been busting my butt to do so).  Its been a long road.  My scores were under 550 less than a year ago.  

[MrBaliw]

My FICO score was in the 680-690 range. I paid off about $40K in credit cards at the same time and now my FICO is around 820 with a utilization around 5-7%.

[lloyd1981]

Depends on how long you've had those cards. And if you can raise your secured card above$300.00. Does your unsecured card have a path to increasing the limit without a hard pull of your credit? Some will offer a small raise of a few hundred dollars if you have had the card in good standing long enough. My personal examples: I used AmEx for so long, I never needed other cards. I was advised I should open at least one MasterCard and one VISA account. One VISA account was tied to iTunes and opened at $1,500.00. That company was purchased by Barclay. The need for some long-pterm deposits for business trips arose. I made my request to Barclay. An immediate bump to $2,000.00. No questions. GE Bank, for my gasoline credit account -- a $250.00 increase, bang, no problem.

My one long-term card, another VISA, I used for "petty cash" -- small purchases, but good for a long time, Chase Platinum. (Always thought that to be a joke - the limit was also $1,500.00.) Asked them about a bump. "We will review and let you know." Then, I received an email asking how much I would like. $2,500.00, I replied. Stupid me. (All I really needed - the county government was going to pay me back immediately anyway, but the $2,000.00 covered certain 'transient' expenses with a bit of a margin for the hold hotels/motels and car rental companies place on your account.) A couple of days later, I was advised that Chase was pleased to increase my limit to $1,900.00. Also got an email notice from Experian of an inquiry, a credit adjustment, and a score reduction, followed immediately by a notice from FICO of a 15 point drop in my score. A credit pull showed a "hard pull" by Chase. The other requests didn't appear. And no one cared that my income had risen by slightly more than $7,000.00 base for the current year.

Be careful. Work toward pre-paid to regular. And review very carefully the cards the FICO site suggests for your current score level. If you can open an unsecured account, so much the better.

Good luck!

[dadiva70]

Paying down your credit cards is an important factor to your credit score.  I have found myself utilizing 80% of my credit cards and that is not good.  When I paid off (not closed) my credit cards, my score increased like 80 points.  And when it go below that 40%, your score drops. 

[cj56]

Same here.  I went to 0% on my highest limit cc and 2% on my other one that had a balance...total change 3 points.  Used one of the cards the next month and it went down 10 points.  I'm in the same bucket you are.

[WATDA2]

Just never use credit cards and revolve (pay interest) NEVER...  don't buy if you don't have savings to pay Off ALL balances for the month. Use your credit cards to MAKE $$$$$. I have 6 dividend cards...use the special quarterly categories to get extra dividends...make over 1000.00 $$$ a year ...take that you big bank blood sucking weasels!!!!

[WATDA2]

Oh Yeah:   800 + FICO  and   990  Vantage   must be doing something right!!!