Bi Business Posted December 28, 2007 Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 I have 5 credit cards and have recently begin paying them down. CARDS IN GOOD CONDITION:1)500 limit...balance is now 1002)300 limit...balance is now 25MAXED OUT:3)1000....balance is now 9504)500...balance is now 4905)3000...balance is now 2970Am I likely to see a significant increase in my credit score if I pay down cards 3 and 4? I've got the cash in my savings but plan to pay them down over time if my scores won't jump immediately. In short...how much will my score change if I pay down cards 3&4? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovebug5 Posted December 28, 2007 Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 No one can really tell you how much your scores are going to jump because we don't know your full situation. You can always attempt to use the online FICO simulators, but that's all up for speculation.Your scores are always going to go up when your utilization goes down, as utilization is a huge factor in the FICO score (or so they say). Based upon your list, your utilization is basically through the roof. If I had the cash to pay those balances, I'd pay 'em and throw those cards in my sock drawer to prevent myself from having those balances again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recovering Attorney Posted December 28, 2007 Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 I agree, take the cash and pay these off now, along with 1 and 2. Pick one card to use and put the others in the sock drawer for at least 6 months. Time is a big factor in healing FICO scores. Can't be impatient. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bi Business Posted December 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 I agree, take the cash and pay these off now, along with 1 and 2. Pick one card to use and put the others in the sock drawer for at least 6 months. Time is a big factor in healing FICO scores. Can't be impatient.But isn't it best to carry a small balance on each card once I've paid them down...$50-$100? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoUrFrIeNdMiKe Posted December 28, 2007 Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 1 and 2 are ok maybe pay 5-10 dollars over min balances on those, you dont have to have a zero balance. i would attack #4 till it is under 100 then go after #3 till under 100 than the same for #5 last. Just trying to sprinkle a little john commuta rapid debt elimination in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willingtocope Posted December 28, 2007 Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 1. The baddies that you've mentioned in other posts (i.e., collections, charge offs, etc) are hurting your scores much much more than the "utilization" on these CCs. Paying off these cards will have very little effect on your scores.2. And...which score are you trying to improve? FICO has like 17 different scoring models. The only one that you can see (without looking over a mortgage broker or car dealer's shoulder) is the "here's a sucker that CCs can make money off of" score. IMO, take care of the baddies first. Worry about paying down your credit cards later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magdalen77 Posted December 28, 2007 Report Share Posted December 28, 2007 I have 5 credit cards and have recently begin paying them down. CARDS IN GOOD CONDITION:1)500 limit...balance is now 1002)300 limit...balance is now 25MAXED OUT:3)1000....balance is now 9504)500...balance is now 4905)3000...balance is now 2970Am I likely to see a significant increase in my credit score if I pay down cards 3 and 4? I've got the cash in my savings but plan to pay them down over time if my scores won't jump immediately. In short...how much will my score change if I pay down cards 3&4?In my experience my scores went up about 10-20 each when I paid down my dinky sub-prime card. At the time I had a CL of about $400 and I was keeping it around $300-something. It was the only card I had. I would always pay more than the minimum, but that didn't matter. All FICO saw was that I was using 75% of my available credit. YMMV, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoveToGod Posted January 6, 2008 Report Share Posted January 6, 2008 Hello, Pay down the credit cards will increase your fico score of nothing else changes. If you go to myfico.com I think there is a score simulator there where you can plug in all of your information. The thing I would make sure I do first though is have about a $1500 emergency savings account fund set up in case your car breaks or something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasen Posted January 6, 2008 Report Share Posted January 6, 2008 But isn't it best to carry a small balance on each card once I've paid them down...$50-$100?Some people have seen better scores with a very small balance as opposed to a zero balance. Probably still debatable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willingtocope Posted January 7, 2008 Report Share Posted January 7, 2008 Well, since the Browns aren't in the playoffs, and I've got a little time, once more, let me point out.1. If the score you're looking at is anything other than directly from FICO, its wrong.2. Even if the score you're looking at came from MyFICO.com, its NOT the same score that anyone who will be lending you money will see.3. The FICO model that credit card companies see...the "here's a sucker that we can charge penalty and interest" score...will probably INCREASE if you have lots of balances on lots of credit cards. The "utilization" they're looking for is probably in the 50-75% range. They want to see you making sizable monthly payments to several different cards.4. The FICO model that car lenders and mortgage lenders see...the "here's someone who's likely to repay their loan..on time, but NOT ahead of time" score...will probably INCREASE if you have only a couple of CCs AND they all have zero balances.Spend your time worrying about important things...like will Brittany get her kids back...and don't stress over something you can't control and even if you could, it has no influence on your life.Pay your bills on time. Don't have more credit than you absolutely need. Stop giving money to the credit sooth-sayers scammers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n00b Posted January 7, 2008 Report Share Posted January 7, 2008 Quick note about myFICO, they have several products that will show you your score and a credit report. Different products are tied to each of the big 3 (shocked!), or you can do a package deal and get scores/reports for all 3. You can also sign up for a package with just one CRA now and add another later to spread out the costs.The cool thing, imo, was that there is a utility where you can "simulate" changes in your credit report, so you can check to see how much it will impact your score for TU & EQ to pay off various amounts of your debt, either in monthly payments for x-number of months, or a lump sum. (EX has some sort of data limitation so it doesnt play nice with the cool new toy - bleh.)I've found the tool to be very helpful in my own quest and well worth the money for the service. (I ended up paying $25 for all 3.) From using this handy little feature, I was able to figure out that the TL that I was the LEAST worried about is actually the one doing the most harm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
debtmamma Posted January 7, 2008 Report Share Posted January 7, 2008 credit sooth-sayers scammers.I LOVE IT!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldfrog Posted January 7, 2008 Report Share Posted January 7, 2008 That's interesting that some say the myFico scores are wrong..., because I've seen it both ways. My last check with a Mtg company in July 2007 indicated all three scores being exactly the numbers I pulled the night before.Another mtg company showed lower scores, two days earlier. ( all 3 ) Weird. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2001Badyear Posted January 10, 2008 Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 I have a theory on this.....I pulled my Free Annuals from all three individually and 36 hours later pulled a 3-in one associated with TU. The 3-in-one had a drop of my EQ and EX by huge margin, but the TU was exactly the same.Gave a lot of thought about this and think that the 3-in-ones are correct to date for the one they are associated with, but the others are older information. Perhaps they are pulling the 2 non-associated from a canned older database in an effort to save money?Days later I signed up for CS thru my Amex and the numbers were back at originals again. My FICO's were nearly the same as the FAKO's.Not sure, but I think the 3-in-ones are least accurate and up to date information, for what it's worth is only available through direct to CRA.Not that any of it means anything, by the way. Just guess I'm caught up in the madness and marketing genius these aholes have found as a way to make money off peoples insecurities or paranoia.Now excuse me I need to go look outside for the people that I know are out to get me and are probably hiding in the bushs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2001Badyear Posted January 10, 2008 Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 We can only hope and pray for that and Saturday when it goes away. Now get out of my bushes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2001Badyear Posted January 10, 2008 Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 But their so green and comfy:)++ and......good God....close your blindsOh, ya, sorry 'bout that. Not used to my stalkers sensitivities yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Try4Gr8Credit Posted January 10, 2008 Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 I seen a significant jump in my score when I paid down to the proper utilization percentage. As a matter of fact I just transfered some of the balance from one to another and my score shot up from mid 600's on all three to low to mid 700s'. I'd say pay it down to get your score up only if you are about to make a move that requires a good score. What are your scores now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovebug5 Posted January 10, 2008 Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 With regards to the debate as to whether or not carrying a small balance is beneficial or detrimental to your score...Based upon my personal experience, PIF'ing my cards every single month has been more beneficial than carrying any balance. Why? Because PIF'ing my balances on a monthly basis has resulted in CLI's, lowered APR's, etc. Obviously the higher your CL goes and the lower your balance is, the lower your utilization is. So for me, the PIF route is the way to go and has proven to be more of a score jumper than carrying even a $10 balance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andbowd Posted January 10, 2008 Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 Yes it will help at least 100 points.AB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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