Anyone that knows, Is it better to get all my cards down below 50% or to pay in full one card at a time...score wise...how do they calculate available credit...by the total amount of credit or by individual cards? Most of my cards have a $500 limit (subprime)...I have one that has a $200 charge on it...pay it in full or disperse amoung all the cards 7 total.... The $200 is First Premier, I hate them, should I pay in full and close....account opened 8/2000 or keep and let it age? Will it hurt to close?
I think having balances on 7 cards is likely to hurt scores. One of the reason codes on equifax is too many revolving accounts with balances. I have 5 major cc and 2 retail accounts open and active. Of those, I have balances on two and use a third for daily purchases but pay it off every month. The others four I occasionally charge something just to keep them active and pay them off right away. I think just having running balances on two cards rather than on more has helped my scores. Whatever you do, though, try to never have more than 75% usage on any one card.
