WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO MY SCORE

[Anonymous]

I normally run under 7% utilization but thinking of going to 50% for large purchase.  Will this set off an alarm.  Should I call CCs I'm going to use?  URGENT

[marty56]

IMHO (for me) my score is more sensitive to total util then on a single card.  If your total util goes above 9%, you will see some score drop.  I might be tempted to call the CCC and tell that that you are going to take the util to 50% and ask if that will cause a problem for your account.  If you have a good history with them, they should be cool with it even with the score drop.

Can you post the CCC so people here can respond with their experience with that company.

Message Edited by marty56 on 06-24-2008 06:44 PM

[Lel]

Are you planning on applying for credit (new card, mortgage, car loan) anytime soon? If not, then I wouldn't worry about your utilization.

In my experience, whenever I've run high balances on a card, even though I PIF every month, the credit card companies like that. I've been rewarded with multiple CLIs in response to my high utilization.

You may want to alert the CCC that you are about to make a big purchase, so that the transaction doesn't get hung up. Whenever I know there will be unusual activity on a card (for example, when traveling to foreign countries), I alert the CCCs so that they won't deny my transaction in a cozy little Florentine steakhouse.

[Anonymous]

The key is "PIF every month." The credit card companies do like it if you briefly carry high balances. However, consistently revolving high balances makes them nervous, and also tanks your FICO score until the balances are paid off.

The bottom line: an excursion into 50% territory isn't going to permanently harm your FICO score, nor make the CC nervous. Just don't stay at 50%.