Anonymous Posted April 16, 2003 Report Share Posted April 16, 2003 Here's my issue: I have a Citibank card with a $12,000 credit limit and $5,100 (42.5% of the total limit) in charges and a 12% interest rate. I have an MBNA card with a $5,500 limit and $0 charges (0% of the total limit) and MBNA is offering 4.9% on balance transfers. Should I tranfer the Citi balance to MBNA to take advantage of the lower rate? Here's the rub: I hear that it LOWERS your FICO score to use more than 50% of your credit limit on any one card. Currently I am only using 42.5% of my Citi limit, but if I transfer to MBNA I will be using 93% of my MBNA credit limit ($5,100/$5,500). What should I do? Do balance tranfers boost your credit rating? How does it work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timbercreektech Posted April 16, 2003 Report Share Posted April 16, 2003 Really not so complicated. I would transfer $2000-$2500 over to new line. Keep the other open. You do not have to transfer the whole balance. Keep up payments and pay off, your credit will shine. It always looks negative to transfer a full balance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morrow Posted April 16, 2003 Report Share Posted April 16, 2003 IMO, I would transfer it. If indeed it does lower your score, im sure that it would me minimal. You could pay off the transferred balance quicker if you use what you were paying before with the higher interest. Does that make sense?Thats just my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anonymous Posted April 16, 2003 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2003 So if I tranfer over $2,000 will this raise, lower, or keep my score the same?Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
md Posted April 21, 2003 Report Share Posted April 21, 2003 Question: Are you going to be applying for credit anytime soon such that a slightly lower score will prevent you from obtaining it? If the answer is no then it would be best to get the lower interest rate for all of it and then you could pay it down quicker and this would improve your score more than transferring the full balance would hurt it. Unless you will be applying for credit, or a credit check will be performed for some other reason, don't worry about your score. Worry about paying off your debt. It is just a number until you need it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kb9tbq Posted April 22, 2003 Report Share Posted April 22, 2003 Actually under 40% balance per card is what the banks like to see. But on the other hand you will be able to pay a lot faster with the interest rate difference.Be sure to leave a balance on the other card though; even if it is just $50. Then pay it down as agreed minimum each month until done. This way the Credit Report will not show that you even used balance transfer to move the debt. Definately will look better not to transfer the complete balance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookiemnster Posted April 22, 2003 Report Share Posted April 22, 2003 Have you tried calling MBNA and asking them for a CL increase so you can take full advantage of their BT offer without maxing out your card? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravenous Wolf Posted April 22, 2003 Report Share Posted April 22, 2003 EVERYTHING lowers your credit score.So don't base your cash management and debt management decisions on your FICO score. If you are doing responsible credit behavior, your score will eventually bounce back higher.But don't sweat a small dip if you doing behavior that will eventually get you a better score and better management of your debt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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