My opps living debt free with one credit card.

[Noid]

12k

... I would have been over my limit if I did not pay down.

HOWEVER, I DID NOT HAVE TO PAY TO ZERO.

My balance was near limit during the Obama years when I was constantly looking for work.

They never raised my rate.

During the last 6 months I went from 7k to 2k to 0 and now 9k.

I'm only using the card as designed, for convenience.

 

[highland145]

Meh, forget about it.

 

[ultimatebob]

Yeah... you really shouldn't close old credit cards (unless they're charging you an annual fee) because it will lower your total available credit, shorten your average account age, and lower your credit score. The impact will be less if you have multiple accounts, though. It seems that the magic number of credit accounts for FICO is 7 or 8. They ding you a few points if you have less than that, and start to penalize you if you have more than 9.

I don't buy the story that your credit score improves if you keep a balance on your card, though. I always pay mine off at the end of the month, and my credit score is really good at the moment.

The creditors DO like to see a mortgage or car loan on your report, though. I once (just once!) had a perfect 850 out of 850 FICO score show up on my report, but then it dropped 30 points after I paid off my car loan early. Weird.

Other weird things that I noticed... Wells Fargo and Discover seem to use different versions of the FICO scoring system, so those scores never seem to match up. Credit Karma has a different scoring system entirely that seems to be less harsh than FICO. I used to have a short sale of my old condo on my credit report, and that caused my FICO score to drop by 140 points. It stayed low for 7 years until that black mark disappeared off my record. Credit Karma's score only dropped by about 60 points, though, and was back over 800 after 4 years. Go figure.

 

[ponyo]

12k

$9k used on $12k limit card. Pay off the $9k immediately and then wait about 6 weeks. Open several more credit cards. Opening new cards will hurt your credit short term but will greatly help you longterm. You need to try to get at least $100k total credit limit if you're going to spend $9k. $12k limit is just way too low.

 

[purbeast0]

LOL yeah this just sounds like basic math.

You are using 75% of your total available credit.

By your own words it was just at 2k then 0 prior to this all within the past few months.

From 0% to 75% in a period of I'm guessing weeks. And not paying it off.

Makes complete sense why it would hurt your score.

 

[Noid]

$9k used on $12k limit card. Pay off the $9k immediately and then wait about 6 weeks. Open several more credit cards. Opening new cards will hurt your credit short term but will greatly help you longterm. You need to try to get at least $100k total credit limit if you're going to spend $9k. $12k limit is just way too low.

Ok.

 

[Noid]

LOL yeah this just sounds like basic math.

You are using 75% of your total available credit.

By your own words it was just at 2k then 0 prior to this all within the past few months.

From 0% to 75% in a period of I'm guessing weeks. And not paying it off.

Makes complete sense why it would hurt your score.

Makes NO sense to me. They are my only lender.
I needed no others. It came with my IBM credit union as an employee.
I just reminds me how much B.S. our society has.

I will be calling my Credit Union Monday also.
( they handed off the CC service to a 3rd party last year )
I will inform them they will no longer get usage from me on their card.
I opened it in 1993 I think.

I don't believe I should be punished for being responsible.

 

[ultimatebob]

Ok.

Yeah, you really want to have a few separate credit credit cards. Not only does it help your credit, but the credit card companies often offer cash bonuses for opening an account and have different cash back bonus programs for certain stores throughout the year.

 

[Torn Mind]

You get dinged every time a balance is left on there even if you make monthly minimum payments.

Credit is an implicit rating of "contract-breaking risk". What the lender prefers is that you pay off the entire principal or else....you're breaking a contract to give them back their money on time(time value of money). They raised their rate because of the fact they'll see..."hey, this dude always leaves a balance. We can raise the rates to see if he'll actually pay in full and on time. or simply just give us free interest and fee money because he won't pay everything off on time".

 

[highland145]

Makes NO sense to me. They are my only lender.
I needed no others. It came with my IBM credit union as an employee.
I just reminds me how much B.S. our society has.

I will be calling my Credit Union Monday also.
( they handed off the CC service to a 3rd party last year )
I will inform them they will no longer get usage from me on their card.
I opened it in 1993 I think.

I don't believe I should be punished for being responsible.

Gotta be in the game to play the game. My oldest card is Perk's age. 1942. Charge my vitamins every few months to keep it active.

So, don't close that 1993.

 

[Noid]

You get dinged every time a balance is left on there even if you make monthly minimum payments.

Credit is an implicit rating of "contract-breaking risk". What the lender prefers is that you pay off the entire principal or else....you're breaking a contract to give them back their money on time(time value of money). They raised their rate because of the fact they'll see..."hey, this dude always leaves a balance. We can raise the rates to see if he'll actually pay in full and on time. or simply just give us free interest and fee money because he won't pay everything off on time".

That's what I wanted to hear from the CC agent.
Instead they gave me scripted lies.

I'm also expecting a call from a manager at the CC company.
With everyone working remotely, everything is a wait and see ...

( but my score was NEVER " dinged " for a carried balance. )

Also, what the point of having a " limit " ?
If they raise the rates at a percentage from total limit.
The percentage should be the limit.
Thus, no one is pissed off, and they get their interest money from me.

They have payment history since 1993. No payments missed.
Be ashamed of your practices. If they are reading lol .

 

[MtnMan]

I received a letter from my ONLY credit card that my rate is increasing due to one or more of 4 factors.
None of the categories were applicable.

So I called them, I got a " remote " agent working from a script.
I eventually asked for a manager, who was not available.

After all this I called my mother about Thanksgiving, and my call to my CCC.
She told me the same thing happened to her at Home Depot when she cancelled one of 3 cards.
( they were giving $20 dollars on each card - they didnt care how many apparently )
So, when she cancelled one, her credit rating dropped 100 points.

The only lender I had deliberately attacked my credit score, and raised my rate.
Hate is the only word I can deliver without profanity.

A hard lesson to learn.
Be warned.

Staggering debt... the Amurcan way...

 

[Muse]

So why worry about your credit score if you have no need to borrow?

Yeah, I don't envision a need to borrow. Getting my first CC was a bitch. I had a full time job but they wouldn't issue me a card because I had no credit. Owed nobody anything but no credit history that they could find. If they'd found any, it was pristine, I think I bought a $100 item on credit in the late 60's and paid for it in a month.

Finally some company issued me a CC and I was on my way. I'd get offers in the mail. Then started going for CCs with bonuses, some perk or other. After a while it just seemed like too much trouble to have 6+ CCs and I stopped getting more. The only thing that would entice me to apply now (I'm never refused) is a higher rate of cash back than I'm getting, which is right now a minimal 2%. I have a couple cards that have rotating 5% categories and I keep track. But I haven't applied for a new card for a few years. A few times I've been cancelled for no activity, didn't notice a credit hit. My score hovers around 800. I have a $27000 interest free loan that I see no reason to pay off, I suppose that impacts my score, but so what.

Every CC I have has autopay from my checking account, I don't have to think about it.

Offers of CCs with APR enticements get thrown in the trash immediately.

 

[ponyo]

Makes NO sense to me. They are my only lender.
I needed no others. It came with my IBM credit union as an employee.
I just reminds me how much B.S. our society has.

I will be calling my Credit Union Monday also.
( they handed off the CC service to a 3rd party last year )
I will inform them they will no longer get usage from me on their card.
I opened it in 1993 I think.

I don't believe I should be punished for being responsible.

lol. They won't care. You're inconsequential to them. You're also high risk. $9k balance on $12k is red flag on their system.

That's what I wanted to hear from the CC agent.
Instead they gave me scripted lies.

I'm also expecting a call from a manager at the CC company.
With everyone working remotely, everything is a wait and see ...

( but my score was NEVER " dinged " for a carried balance. )

Also, what the point of having a " limit " ?
If they raise the rates at a percentage from total limit.
The percentage should be the limit.
Thus, no one is pissed off, and they get their interest money from me.

They have payment history since 1993. No payments missed.
Be ashamed of your practices. If they are reading lol .

They won't call you unless you're late with payment. "Limit" is their risk exposure. They will raise the interest rate if they think you're at risk of defaulting. In their view, you've turned into very high risk by charging $9k out of max $12k limit. Given your sparse credit history, they're scared you're going to default.

You're pretty much doing everything wrong when it comes to credit. You should read and learn how to effectively use credit. Right now, you're clueless and really hurting yourself by being ignorant on how credit works.

 

[Noid]

lol. They won't care. You're inconsequential to them. You're also high risk. $9k balance on $12k is red flag on their system.

You're pretty much doing everything wrong when it comes to credit. You should read and learn how to effectively use credit. Right now, you're clueless and really hurting yourself by being ignorant on how credit works.

I guess, I don't care now either. My spotless 30 year payment history means nothing.

They will still hear my complaint with their " catch22 ". I'll pay it off in Jan. I will get 2 more cards. One from each of my other institutions by then hopefully.

This card offers me nothing.
( they offered nothing in 1993 lol )

Can't say I'm ignorant about anything. A poor choice of words.
I will " ignore " that.

Anyway, my post is truth. This is what happened to me.
To say it did not happen is just " ignorant " lol

Thanks for everyone's input.

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

I carry no balances month to month other than one that is on a 24 month, no interest promo and one with variable length no interest promos. That also helps me control spending, because I know not to spend more than I can pay off each month.

In general, you don't want a balance on any one card to be higher than about 10% of the available credit limit.

I have one card that is about 30 years old. Or I should say account showing on the credit files. I no longer have the card and am no longer in contact with the CU that issued it. They just never 'closed' it on the credit files. That helps extend my total credit life which helps my rating.

The last two cards I opened caused my rating to go up, not down.

At last look, both rating services had me over 800.

Three years ago, I got a $19,000 loan on my signature only. No real credit application, approval in about two hours. That loan was for 7 years and I'm on track to have it paid off in four.

All that and my income may be the lowest of anyone on ATOT.

I barely get by, but because of how I've done things for 30 years, I can get a card or loan almost instantly.

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

This card offers me nothing.
( they offered nothing in 1993 lol )

Every card I have offers me something. Might be a % cash back, frequent coupons for discounts not available to non-card holders, or no interest promos.

Home Depot for example sends 10-15% off coupons to card holders at least once a month.

My Lowes card gave me 24 months no interest on a $3,000 item.

And none of them have annual fees. Since I pay them off each month (or make the required payments under the promos), I never pay interest.

Chase and a few others routinely offer large introductory promo rewards for new accounts. Might be points or cash or something else. Last one I saw form Chase was something like $300 if you spend $X within X months.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Pretty sure that's a myth. I always pay it to zero and my Credit Karma score is 873. Slightly down from 879 in 2020 but probably because I increased my overall credit usage due to buying land. Makes no sense to hang on to high interest credit. Even if I don't have the money in the bank I pay it off with credit line.

I do have a 34k balance on my credit line now but that's because of my truck and land that I bought. I paid a chunk of it with my ESP account but I want to wait to see how hard of a tax hit I take for taking out that much money at once before I pay off the rest. I technically have enough to pay it off fully.

Once that's paid off I'll probably raise my mortgage payment a bit too. I lowered it a while back knowing I was buying land. I want to work towards being debt free before I put too much money into my new land.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I have one credit card that I have had for three decades and an American Express Platinum card. I charge stuff on the Amex all the time and pay it off when the bill comes. I try to keep a zero balance on the other card. It doesn’t make any difference at all to my credit score which is in the very top range of what a credit score could possibly be anyway.

 

[SaltyNuts]

I pay off 100% of my credit card every month. Many thousands of dollars each month. I have people BEGGING to lend me money. Therefore I'm going to say OP's initial post is not reaaaaaaaalllly 100% correct LOL.

 

[pete6032]

Not true as far as I can tell.

It is only true if your balance is zero at the end of the month. Say you ring up $1,000 in charges and pay it off before the end of your statement month so it is zero when the statement is issued. This will negatively impact your credit. You should always leave some nominal balance at the end of the month so your statement is a non zero total.

Edit - and by non zero total I don't mean carrying over interest accruing balance due. I mean paying it off in full every month but letting the balance be more than zero when the statement cuts.

 

[JulesMaximus]

It is only true if your balance is zero at the end of the month. Say you ring up $1,000 in charges and pay it off before the end of your statement month so it is zero when the statement is issued. This will negatively impact your credit. You should always leave some nominal balance at the end of the month so your statement is a non zero total.

I carry a zero balance on my only revolving debt card all the time for months at a time. It doesn’t affect my credit score at all.

 

[pete6032]

I carry a zero balance on my only revolving debt card all the time for months at a time. It doesn’t affect my credit score at all.

I was paying my cards off immediately after use. Go to the grocery store Monday, pay off the balance Tuesday, etc. That kind of thing. This led to a ton of monthly statements with zero balance. As soon as I started letting the balance be above zero at month end my credit score went up.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I was paying my cards off immediately after use. Go to the grocery store Monday, pay off the balance Tuesday, etc. That kind of thing. This led to a ton of monthly statements with zero balance. As soon as I started letting the balance be above zero at month end my credit score went up.

I charge something on that card and just pay it off when the bill comes then carry zero balance on it until the next time I use it. I generally just use it for purchases I don’t want my wife to know about like gifts for her or the occasional firearm purchase. That card has a $25,000 line of credit and they keep offering to increase it but don’t use it that much and never take them up on it.

 

[Brainonska511]

I just pay statements in full and have a few credit cards; score is north of 800. Never paid a cent in interest, and have even got some interest-free loans on big purchases thanks to when companies like AmEx we're offering their "planit" stuff for no fee/no interest. Plus, I've saved a lot of money over the years on price rewinds when they were offered, rewards, random discounts for places I was already going to shop at.

I was paying my cards off immediately after use. Go to the grocery store Monday, pay off the balance Tuesday, etc. That kind of thing. This led to a ton of monthly statements with zero balance. As soon as I started letting the balance be above zero at month end my credit score went up.

I could see using that method as a form of spending control, particularly if someone has issues with using credit.

I just stick with paying statements in full. Less monthly transactions for my checking account and easier to look through statements to see where spending is high, and decide if it was an anomaly or if it is something becoming routine...