Zoinks!
Two situations. I opened an 0% BT card to move some balances but ended up with high util (71%) on that card. I'm planning to move some of that to bring that util down but wasn't thinking about the new card reporting that high util so quickly (d'oh). Meh. What's done is done. I'm working on spreading that balance out (balance mostly came from Navcheck and I'm moving some to a NF card (which is why I didn't go directly to the other 0% BT deal).
Anywho, I'm sitting here looking at my options and notice that a card that I'm an AU on is sitting at 92% util. When I started building, I was added to my brother's card as an AU for age. That account is now 6y 1 mo. My own oldest accounts are only 1y 8 mos and my AAoA is only 1 yr. So, as of today, my aggregate util is 28%, which might be ok temporarily but, 2 accounts with high util is scary. And, with openining new accounts recently my scores have dropped like 30 points.
So my question is, should I remove myself from my brother's account because of his high util, which I can't control, and I know that he won't be able to pay it down anytime soon. Or, is dropping the 6 yrs going to hurt more?
Thanks for any feedback.
@Anonymous wrote:Yes, remove yourself from that 92% utilized card. While you are doing that, lower the individual utilization on all cards to under 68%. This should improve your score from the perspective of individual or per-card utilization.
Then do three things:
(1) Stop opening cards. You have way more than anyone needs. Resolve to open no cards until you achieve the 820 scores you say you want in your signature.
(2) Pay off all of your credit card debt, starting with high interest debt first.
(3) Once the debt is paid off, re-channel the money you were using to pay off debt into creating a large emergency fund and develop a plan to ensure that you will never have credit card debt again.
Another thing to consider is closing some of the cards you do have. Candidates to consider:
* Cards with annual fees (I can see at least three and there may be more)
* Junky store cards (store cards hurt the score that insurance companies use when determining your premiums)
Thank you SO much for responding. I really appreciate the feedback.
So, to be clear on my overall picture, all other accounts are fine. I made a knee jerk decision to pull $9k from Navcheck because my brother needed cash quickly to close on a building. I figured I could spread it over 2-3 0% BT cards so that he could take his time repaying and I wouldn't have to mess with my own money. I didn't time the BT right and got caught reporting 71% on that new card and then noticed the high util on the AU account (he didn't warn me that he was going to max that card). That said, is your opinion that I should still remove the AU account with only the BT accounts showing no more than 25% individual util and the rest never going above 8%? I worry about the drop in AAoA, especially with the new accounts added. Or are AU accounts even being considered anymore?
Next, at this point, I open accounts to chase SUB or take advantage of the 0% BT promos. The Platinum AMEX is through Ameriprise so, no AF but I wanted to grab the double dipped airline credits (which I used to buy airline giftcards to grab tickets) and I grabbed Global Entry for myself and two daughters. Trying to take full advantage to test drive the card and figured, if I could justify the fee, I'd cancel the Ameriprise card and grab the SUB on the AMEX platinum card. Otherwise, I'm swimming in AMEX cards now, trying to figure out the points game. I'm loving the Bose headset that I recently grabbed but will likely cut BCP and posssssibly PRG in October to avoid those AF.
And finally, thank you, thank you for the tip about the store cards, most of which I got early on with SCT. My insurance premiums are sky high right now because I bought my new driver daughter a car that they seem to think is a sports car. It's not. But I'm paying $850 between her car and my new car. Any reduction in premium would be great, although I won't expect much help with that. July will be 1 year as a licensed driver for her. Any referrals on car insurance?
Thanks for the feedback. I'm sure it sounds like I'm doing a lot but, I just got out of a longterm marriage and am trying to get myself quickly established creditwise. Just thinking with such a short credit history, I need to double check moves removing accounts.
@Anonymous wrote:I agree that you should dump the AU account. Even if it was a 30 year old aged account, I wouldn't take it being that it's tainted with maxed-out utilization.
You'll see a scoring benefit from your highest utilization card no longer being maxed out.
While you'll see an AoOA drop, it won't be huge IMO. Most people that add AU accounts for age purposes take on a double-digit (years) account and you're only talking one that's 6 years old. As for AAoA, you've got more than enough accounts present that will quickly make your AU account going away insignificant in terms of AAoA impact. You'd probably be looking at something like 3-4 months before you AAoA is right back where it was with the AU account present.
As CGID suggested, do not apply for anything else and let those age of accounts factors grow.
Perfect! Thanks!!