I am trying to determine what would be considered less than 50% of a balance. These fico people are so anal it got me to thinking. I just sent in enough money to bring one balance to 1999 of a 4000 credit limit. Will they consider this 49 or round up to 50.
Credit Line Percentage Another great question. I can't answer, just speculate that if they round up, then you'd have to be under $1960 to be under 49%, which would be the only way to be under 50%...? If they round up and down, then you'd have to be under $1980 to be under 49.5%, which is the only way to be under 50%...? It's always good to be 1 or 2 percent below your target, just so interest doesn't push you over the target.
In my experience the "magic number" is ANYTHING below 50%. So as long as no finance charges are added you've got it licked. DemPooches
Re: Re: need help with credit line percenta Well, this could be a fairly big deal to those who can manage to get their lines below 50% but may not have the resources available to get them below 20% just yet. And anecdotally, we have not had the experience of gettting a bump when taking the last tradeline from 25% to 19%, so that 20% "magic number" seems to be another of those factors that depends on the scoring model one falls into. DemPooches
Re: Re: need help with credit line percenta you guys are great. As a newbie I am between being very angry that I have been penalized for taking advantage of a 0% interest rate and before I got to this board not knowing it was extremely damaging to my score. I thought I was being fiscally responsible. Fico does suck!
Re: Re: Re: need help with credit line percenta Just remember, maximizing your FICO scores is very important if you have a major purchase coming up (mortgage, auto etc). You certainly want the lowest interest rate possible because that translates into lots of longer term money in your pocket. It is also important if you are actively seeking new credit or improved terms. But if you're not going to make a major purchase in the short term, or seek new credit or better terms remember, FICO is only a number. You can't spend it. In most cases, there's no reason not to take full advantage of a low rate balance transfer and take the score hit for a few months. Just be sure to make big payments on the BT and don't have several accounts "maxed out" or you can make your creditors nervous thinking you're carrying more debt than you can manage. It's a balance and where you come down depends on your goals. But your bottom line goal should be keeping the most money in your pocket with all things considered. Hope this makes sense. DemPooches
Re: Re: Re: need help with credit line percenta Thanks. I am trying to increase my husbands business lines. I just opened up 30,000 in credit lines so that I could transfer his debt to mine, and then apply for business cards under our company's name. He has a sole proprietorship. I didn't realized but 3 citi accounts that he had balance transfers on and were nearly maxed because they were a 3.9%. I am trying to transfer down to under 50% on any card so he'll have a better chance.
Re: Re: Re: Re: need help with credit line percenta We've done the same thing over the last year and a half or so. It enabled us first to expand our existing business and we are now in the process of opening a 2nd location. Having those business lines makes a world of difference in how the debt you carry is perceived by lenders. It's as though its OK to carry the debt for business, but it's not OK for it to be on your personal reports even if it was all for business purposes. When we use our personal lines now we get BT checks where possible and deposit them into our HELOC the day after the credit card statement is generated. Then we pay the card off completely a couple of days before the next statement is generated. Then repeat the process. For short term purposes it's a way to utilize those low-rate funds without having them report and lower your scores. An FYI for you, Citi is notorious for updating very slowly. You may have to dispute the balances as incorrect to get them updated within a reasonable period of time. DemPooches
Re: Re: Re: Re: need help with credit line percenta Thanks for your help. As far as the business lines, we have 2 business cards and neither one show on my dh report. Since the debt is technically not there do I have to worry about keeping the business lines under 50%. I am not doing that now because we only have 2 and I am trying to hide that debt and get the personal looking great so we can expand our lines.
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: need help with credit line percenta You can use the business lines right up to the limit. We max ours and then pay at least minimum + $500 and that seems to keep them happy. We also rotate through paying them off entirely and then getting a new BT after the account is zeroed out. FYI, the only biz line we have seen that reported on the personal report was GE Capital so we closed it. DemPooches
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: need help with credit line percenta It would have been helpful to our business if we would have known all this info years ago. We were not able to borrow money to get started, so we just starved the first couple of years. Now we are doing fine just sometimes need cash flow while waiting for accounts to pay. It really hurt us because we had a few lines nearly maxed that were low apr. It ridiculous that we have to jump through hoops and do things that cost money in order to make lenders comfortable.
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: need help with credit line percenta I agree completely. Sounds like our situations are very similar. At least the one consolation we have is that finally, we have an inkling as to how the game is played. As we've both learned the hard way, it's a lot tougher to play when you aren't even privvy to the rules. DemPooches
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: need help with credit line percenta One last question. How do I get Citi to update my balance. Do I do it as a dispute that my balance is incorrect and make them verify with the new info.
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: need help with credit line percenta Yes, that took care of it for us. DemPooches
