Skip to main content
August 29, 2019
Question

Credit cards

  • August 29, 2019
  • 2 replies
  • 0 views

Is it better to try and pay off 1 credit card, and pay the minimum on the others? Then continue to do it with the others. My interest rate is the same for all. Also, will my credit score go up when I pay and close the credit card account?

    2 replies

    Employee
    August 29, 2019
    August 30, 2019

    maybe not    part of your credit score is determine by debt outstanding on CC's vs total credit line on all credit cards

     

     

    say on one credit card with a credit limit of 5000 you had 1000 outstanding 

    on another with a credit limit of 4000 you had 2000 outstanding

    on a third with a credit limit of 1000 you had 100 outstanding

    total outstanding 3100 credit limit 10000  utilization 31%

    say you pay off the 100 CC and close it 

    total outstanding 3000 credit limit 9000   utilization 33.33% a higher utilization which could result in a lower credit score.    How big of a hit I can't tell you.       

    but ask yourself this question does a lower credit score really matter - i can name a few where it could  - buying or leasing a car,  buying a home (the mortgage rate),  maybe renting a new place to live.  

     

     

    see this

    https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/how-is-a-fico-score-calculated/

     

    other rating agencies use different formulas and i never seen 1 published so I could do my own computations.  

     

    also realize that rating agencies don't always have the same info. 

     

    thus your credit score will vary from 1 agency to another.

     

    even a person with no debt does not get the highest score.  as a matter of fact the highest score may not be obtainable by anyone.   with no debt there is no payment history a major factor in the computation.

     

    best is o lower debt to the point you have a card or cards with no fees that you pay off in full each month.