Any DFWMUSTANG ballers with 800+ credit score?

[chronical]

I wish I had read this two months ago. I expect to be debt free in 4-6 months, making large lump payments over the past (and next) few months, and wanted to finish it out paying as little interest as possible. I have several cards and loans and have paid them all on time and all paid off early. Got down to my last card, and got an offer for a new one with 0% for 18 months on balance transfers, so I moved the balance over to that new card. Creditkarma rated me having an "A" in everything except average age was down to 2.5, and it gave me a D there. The score was lower than I expected, so I'm hoping it's off like you guys say.

I throw away tons of cc offers but this one caught my eye and seemed like a good idea. It saved me money, but that sucks if it dinged my credit. Catch 22.

So, does paying off cards and letting them sit unused with a zero balance hurt my score at all?

May be seeking a home and/or land loan before the end of the year, so would like to polish up my credit as much as possible.

Fico is actual funny in regards to this. If you have all cards reporting a zero dollar balance, you will be scored less than if you'd let just one card report a balance of 1% ( $2 balance will suffice). You are penalized for carrying balances on more than one card, no matter how small. You also must remember, if you wait until your statement has cut to pay, it is already too late. To have your balances reported correctly, you would have to pay before your statement cuts.

[Barbie]

I wish I had read this two months ago. I expect to be debt free in 4-6 months, making large lump payments over the past (and next) few months, and wanted to finish it out paying as little interest as possible. I have several cards and loans and have paid them all on time and all paid off early. Got down to my last card, and got an offer for a new one with 0% for 18 months on balance transfers, so I moved the balance over to that new card. Creditkarma rated me having an "A" in everything except average age was down to 2.5, and it gave me a D there. The score was lower than I expected, so I'm hoping it's off like you guys say.

I throw away tons of cc offers but this one caught my eye and seemed like a good idea. It saved me money, but that sucks if it dinged my credit. Catch 22.

So, does paying off cards and letting them sit unused with a zero balance hurt my score at all?

May be seeking a home and/or land loan before the end of the year, so would like to polish up my credit as much as possible.

Letting cards sit unused does not hurt your score. I have a dozen cards (literally) and I use one as primary and a couple others infrequently. I pay the entire balance everytime

[Barbie]

You also must remember, if you wait until your statement has cut to pay, it is already too late. To have your balances reported correctly, you would have to pay before your statement cuts.

When you mean balance do you mean not paying the entire statement amount? I pay my cards in full each month on the due date. Always have and I have a great score.

[chronical]

Letting cards sit unused does not hurt your score. I have a dozen cards (literally) and I use one as primary and a couple others infrequently. I pay the entire balance everytime

Correct. The only thing I would add is, issuers will sometimes close your account or decrease your limit if they are dormant too long. A pack of gum every three or four months is sufficient to remedy this problem. That or 0.80 amazon gift cards lol

[bluecollar]

Where is freighttrain when you need him?

[Barbie]

Correct. The only thing I would add is, issuers will sometimes close your account or decrease your limit if they are dormant too long. A pack of gum every three or four months is sufficient to remedy this problem. That or 0.80 amazon gift cards lol

The majority of my cards haven't been used in years. I bet two or three haven't been touched in 3-5 yrs. with no limit decrease or closures

[chronical]

When you mean balance do you mean not paying the entire statement amount? I pay my cards in full each month on the due date. Always have and I have a great score.

Credit card utilization is major factor of the fico scoring model. Utilization is defined as how much of your available credit you have used. ($100 balance on a $1000 card =10% utilization). you are scored as a sum of all your accounts or total utilization as well as individual account.
I'm sure you have a really great score. What I am saying is if for example, you charged $2000 on a card that has a $4000 limit, and waited until you received your statement in the mail, and then sent in a payment for the full amount, the balance that would have been reported to the credit reporting agencies would have been the $2000 even though you paid it in full. You would also be scored on this balance and in this example would have 50% utilization. I believe utilization makes up 30% of your score. So if instead paying $2000 once you received your statement, you had made a payment of $1998 5 to 7 days before the day your statement cuts, you would then receive a statement that says your balance is $2 and that number is reported to the credit reporting agencies.

[chronical]

The majority of my cards haven't been used in years. I bet two or three haven't been touched in 3-5 yrs. with no limit decrease or closures

Every issuer is different. I think it's great that you have cards that you don't use. It may or may not ever be an issue for you since I don't know which cards you have.

[Barbie]

Credit card utilization is major factor of the fico scoring model. Utilization is defined as how much of your available credit you have used. ($100 balance on a $1000 card =10% utilization). you are scored as a sum of all your accounts or total utilization as well as individual account.
I'm sure you have a really great score. What I am saying is if for example, you charged $2000 on a card that has a $4000 limit, and waited until you received your statement in the mail, and then sent in a payment for the full amount, the balance that would have been reported to the credit reporting agencies would have been the $2000 even though you paid it in full. You would also be scored on this balance and in this example would have 50% utilization. I believe utilization makes up 30% of your score. So if instead paying $2000 once you received your statement, you had made a payment of $1998 5 to 7 days before the day your statement cuts, you would then receive a statement that says your balance is $2 and that number is reported to the credit reporting agencies.

I understand the debt to available credit thing. All those empty cards with $0 balances offset any negative I get for not paying until the due date

[CJ-95GT]

Pay your bills in full and on time. I got rid of all my CC's except for a gas card and a MC. I pay all my bills on time and in full. I have a mortgage and no other debt. My current score is 830.

[chronical]

I understand the debt to available credit thing. All those empty cards with $0 balances offset any negative I get for not paying until the due date

They sure do. The above is really about fine tuning your score. If someone has a clean report, makes their payments on time, and doesn't gave any cards close to being maxed out, they are sure to have a decent score.

[chronical]

Pay your bills in full and on time. I got rid of all my CC's except for a gas card and a MC. I pay all my bills on time and in full. I have a mortgage and no other debt. My current score is 830.

X2

[LaserSVT]

Pay your bills in full and on time. I got rid of all my CC's except for a gas card and a MC. I pay all my bills on time and in full. I have a mortgage and no other debt. My current score is 830.

I don't think so. I have lots of bills for my home and shop and pay all on time and do not have a credit score. I haven't had a late notice in years. I also haven't had a credit card, auto or home loan in years. I thought bills were on your credit score but I guess only time they report is if you are late.

[Barbie]

I don't think so. I have lots of bills for my home and shop and pay all on time and do not have a credit score. I haven't had a late notice in years. I also haven't had a credit card, auto or home loan in years. I thought bills were on your credit score but I guess only time they report is if you are late.

That's why I don't close my cards I don't use. They are still reporting positively. I also spend every dollar I can on my card and get rewards.

[jluv]

I'm sure you have a really great score. What I am saying is if for example, you charged $2000 on a card that has a $4000 limit, and waited until you received your statement in the mail, and then sent in a payment for the full amount, the balance that would have been reported to the credit reporting agencies would have been the $2000 even though you paid it in full. You would also be scored on this balance and in this example would have 50% utilization. I believe utilization makes up 30% of your score. So if instead paying $2000 once you received your statement, you had made a payment of $1998 5 to 7 days before the day your statement cuts, you would then receive a statement that says your balance is $2 and that number is reported to the credit reporting agencies.

But then it changes the very next month, or what? I'm confused.