Utilization question

[NC84]

So I have $3,000 on a penfed card for no interest for next 11 months with $6,500 limit and my only other credit debt (not counting instalment) is Amazon for $2,500 but the promotion will end soon and was going to take advantage of the penfed 0% 12 month offer that's still valid for a few months. I was thinking about doing this next month so I can save some money on interest but I'm wondering how it will effect my score. I have over done it on accounts and inquiries in last 3 years so im gonna garden until my car lease is up in a year and a half . Would this new utlilization on penfed give me a big reduction in my score? I'm guessing if go ahead with the BT next month that my Penfed balance will be $5,550 out of $6,500 limit. I do have 71k (9%) in available overall credit. My scores are in 680s right now.

[Anonymous]

Well, you'd be taking your highest utilization account from 47% to 86% while keeping aggregate constant, so yes you'd take a hit, but how much who knows.  I'd guess maybe 10-15 points, but no doubt it could be more or less depending on profile.

Is it possible to request a SP CLI on that card first?  With under 50% utilization currently that may be possible (I don't know the "rules" with that lender) and doing that prior to increasing the balance would of course help the individual utilization line.

[SouthJamaica]

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@NC84 wrote:
So I have $3,000 on a penfed card for no interest for next 11 months with $6,500 limit and my only other credit debt (not counting instalment) is Amazon for $2,500 but the promotion will end soon and was going to take advantage of the penfed 0% 12 month offer that's still valid for a few months. I was thinking about doing this next month so I can save some money on interest but I'm wondering how it will effect my score. I have over done it on accounts and inquiries in last 3 years so im gonna garden until my car lease is up in a year and a half . Would this new utlilization on penfed give me a big reduction in my score? I'm guessing if go ahead with the BT next month that my Penfed balance will be $5,550 out of $6,500 limit. I do have 71k (9%) in available overall credit. My scores are in 680s right now.

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Having that big utilization will definitely hurt your scores.

[Anonymous]

Yeah, you are crossing 2 thresholds for individual utilization, but if you will have 1 less account with a balance, that could also affect score depending on # of accounts, ect..

I agree 10-15 points on crossing the 2 thresholds, but we don't know if any other factors may come into play, as mentioned.

[NC84]

Thanks for the help everyone. I guess I have a desicion to make . Lower score and no interest vs higher score and higher interest. If I'm not doing another hard pull until Feb 2021 maybe I can take a temporary 15 point hit.

[Anonymous]

Do what makes financial sense. And keep in mind everything varies by scorecard.

[Anonymous]

OP, have you considered the SP CLI suggestion I made in my first reply?

[NC84]

Penfed CLIs on credit cards are a hard pull every time.

[Anonymous]

Gotcha, good to know.

Not sure how the results are with HP CLIs from them, but it may be worth considering. 

If you were to lose (say) 5-7 points for a HP on one bureau in order to achieve a CLI that could cut down your loss of (say) 10-15 points in half on all 3B, it could still be "worth" it perhaps.  Aside from the scoring differences, there's also the intangible of your highest individual utilization account simply being lower, a sign of less risk and simply a better "look" upon a MR.