Should I...?

Question

Should I...pay off both my credit cards a little at a time, at the same time, or pay one off, then the other? Which is better for my credit?

Answer 1

Pay the one with the highest interest rate first, while still paying the minimum payment on the other. Then once that is paid off, pay off the other card. Neither mode is better than the other for your credit. What it is better for is the amount of money you are spending. If you pay off the higher interest rate card, you are spending less on interest, which is just lost money. When you are at least paying minimum, it is just as good as paying larger amounts for your credit report.

Answer 2

You must make the minimum payment on both at all times, that is the first and most important thing to know, because even if you are 30 days late on one, that will stay in your credit score for 7 years.

That being said, if you can pay more than the minimum on one, or if you get a load of money and can pay off one, but not the other, pay down the one with the highest APR (annual percentage rate) Once you have it paid off, send a letter to the credit card issuer and ask them to "close the account by consumer request" and report that to your credit bureau just that way. This will protect your credit rating and a memo will be assigned to your credit report showing you closed the account and not the other way around, which is not a good thing.

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Answer 3

Make sure you at minimum make a monthly payment and on time. Being on time with regular payments will help your credit. Not doing this will send it spiraling downward, and fast.

Also, paying things off at some point is a great idea. You need to show that you are capable of paying the money back that you borrow so that you can get bigger loans for things like cars and houses.

Last, once you do pay a card off, close it out. Having the ability to charge up thousands of dollars in credit cards is also a red flag.

Answer 4

Fisrt look on your statements and find out the interest rate you are paying on them. If one is at 29 % and one is 11 % pay off as much as you can on the high interest one and just pay 1.00 over the minimum on the lower interest one. Till you have paid off the high interest card. That will save you money in interest charges, and paying over the minimum on the other helps your credit out a little.
Or you can get a new card and transfer the balances of the old ones to a new lower rate card. Try this place

http://www.dgftaworld.net/credit/AmericanExpressCards.htm

Answer 5

I would pay on both of them (ON TIME), but pay more on the higher interest card until it's paid off. After you pay it off, don't charge up the card again, and don't close the account.

Your credit score increases when you have more available credit. If you are close to reaching your limit, call your credit card company and ask them to increase your spending limit. The key is to have the increased limit, but not to use it. You'll look like a better risk if you have more available credit, as well as a good payment history.

Answer 6

If you are trying to improve your credit for, say, purchasing a house,
you are playing a dangerous game. Usually, the best policy is to
just pay them off as soon as possible to avoid paying interest charges
that can quickly get out of hand.

However, that being said, credit companies love you to death if you are
paying interest but doing so on time. The more interest you pay on time,
the more they like you and yes, the higher your credit score goes.

Of course, to do that, you are paying them all kinds of interest. That is,
you are literally buying the high credit by paying the interest.

You could, I suppose, simply pay the minimum balance on a credit
card forever, and be forever increasing your credit score. However,
when you go to get a loan, they will check to see what your outstanding
liabilities are, and that will include whatever you have racked up on the
credit card.

Therefore, if you are going to play that game, immediately before you
apply for the loan, pay off your credit cards totally.

However ... Don't.

Its too easy to get yourself in over your head with the credit cards
(Ooh ... free money!) and end up in bankruptcy.

Answer 7

Be careful with the credit cards, you better have only one. Pay the two at a time. Good Luck.

Answer 8

Credit Card Basics Understanding Five Main Credit Card Terms
By: Joseph Kenny

This site has a wealth of information for you.

Good luck

Answer 9

To keep from paying the fees, pay it all off if you can. It will help you in the long run.
Paying your credit card ON TIME, EVERY TIME, will help your credit.

Answer 10

Depepnding on the amount of intrest on each one is the largest factor for this to consider. Paying off a higher intrest rate even if it has a lower balance is better than a lower Intrest rate and a higher balace in general. I would pay off the higher of the two and then apply that same amount plus what you were already paying to the other outstanding card.