@Anonymous wrote:
So FICO says that: 1) Having too many cards with balances is worse than maxing out a single card but 2) Maxing out a single card is worse than spreading out the balances but 3) The "overall" debt to CL is what's really calculated. So which is it? I thought I'd seen somewhere that if a balance to CL on a particular card went BELOW 50% that was better than having it go over 50%. But then I get a "your score is lower because" having balances spread around as opposed to having fewer "higher" balances?
Well. It can be as much as -18 points for too many cards with balances.
Maxing out your cards can be more than -10 extra points.
.... But maxing out your card with what "CL" and what "%" of total credit line? This is a huge factor.
Most important of the three is total UTL! This can drop you over -100 points. Combine this with maxed out and too many cards and your score will plummet!
It's a weight game. Sometimes it is better to spread around, sometimes better to load on to one card. The differences are close. But UTL is always better lower than higher. Same as 10% is better than 20%.
And a $200 balance on a $300 limit looks worst than a $1,000 limit on a $10,000 card for the same person with the same income. Silly I know.
Just remember that FICO score does not include your income. But a potential lender will look at it on your application for a mortgage, credit card, etc.
ilovepizza wrote:
And a $200 balance on a $300 limit looks worst than a $1,000 limit on a $10,000 card for the same person with the same income. Silly I know.
