Util. Question - Just paid

[Anonymous]

Hi All

I have been working on my credit for a couple of months now and I have managed to bring TU From 640 - 690 and equi. from 600 - 660.

I have a total of 4 CC's.  Two major CC (citibank) and 2 department stores.  

Next month only 1 citigroup will be showing a balance  3000/3300 - 90% util.  I just paid a off 1900 of the other citi card and the balance updated and I only rec. like 4 points? Whats up with that?  On EQ I don't think I saw any

The only other neg. thing I have is 1 60 day late (trying to GW but still not working)

Anyway, besides the 1 late, my util. will be at 29% with one card reporting a balance of 3000 @ 90% util.  How much of a DING do you think its causing?  I am wondering what is more important, total util or util on each card becasue I could do a balance transfer to even it out

Im guess I just need to work on the final card, but how the heck can I bring EQ where TU is?

[Anonymous]

First, congrats on paying off the one CC.  That's a big start.

Second, both types of utilization count.  Overall is the most affect, but then individual cards will have a secondary factor.  Also, 29% utilization won't give you a big boost yet.  Once you get that level to 9% or less, then you should begin to see the bigger jumps.

You might want to use the FICO estimator to see how you might come out under different scenarios:

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/fico/board/message?board.id=rebuildingcredit&thread.id=60929

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the reply

So I guess my last question is, should I throw like $1000 on it all at once or pay it off like $500 a month for say 4 months.  Does it matter either way or will the end result be the same?

Thanks

[Junejer]

From a scoring standpoint, it will all come out in the wash the same. The latter way, you will pay more interest. If you have lump sums to put on it and you won't feel much pain behind it, I would do it that way, if I were in your situation.