Heidi, I would pay a whole bunch of SERIOUS attention to hauling's comment.
Congrats on your marriage, and I understand the debt was incurred only in the past two months, but unfortunately when it comes to %util, FICO does not care about three months ago, only today. It shows are are maxed out. As hauling has warned, loss of current credit limit on any of those current cards, which is quite possible, willl compound your woes immensely.
Almost 70% of your current credit liimit (21,000 of 32,00) is based on your AMEX cards. In this tight credit crunch, CCCs, are routinely restricting credit to those showing higher current risk. AMEX has never been one for extending high credit when balances bulge. If you lose the 12000 AMEX CL liimit on just that one card, you will be way over 100% in total util, with a substatial FICO hit.
There is a very good reason why FICO looks at high current (not historical) revolv %util as a high weighting factor. It is because this is one of the earliest indicators of immediate credit risk. AMEX does not know that you were just married, and that you may be able in the near future to pay them down. They see a red flag in their computer pattern.
You are maxed, or close to being maxed, on 12 of your 13 revolving TLs, and that is a very serious indicator of risk. The only account with a util under 80% is your lowest CL (HSBC) account.
Sure, paying down %util to 69% will give you some FICO boost, but potential loss of the CLs on other cards, should they choose to either shut you down, or drasticaly reduce your CL on those cards, will push our overall % util above the roof.
I would heed hauling's warning, and get on the phone to AMEX and explain your situation, and try to retain their CLs as as first step.
Message Edited by RobertEG on
06-09-2008 11:10 PMMessage Edited by RobertEG on
06-09-2008 11:23 PMMessage Edited by RobertEG on
06-09-2008 11:46 PM