I am looking to boost my credit score. I am 22 with an AMEX Blue card with 0% through October. I have an open credit line of $9200 with $3200 used up. Should I keep my schedule of paying $150 a week or pay it off in full. What will benefit me more? The only reason I am looking to boost my score of 715 is in preparation of buying a house next summer. I will be a first time home buyer and I do not want to get hassled around with all the subprime lending fall out.
2007-04-12 09:31:41 · 12 answers · asked by Bob V 2 in Business & Finance ➔ Credit
I would pay it off. You should at least pay 10% each month or $320....a score of 715 is actually no that bad when shopping mortgage rates. credit cards can become a problem fast...you keep paying that minimum and all of a sudden that no interest period is up and BLAM!...17% or higher. Pay off the card, then take your monthly savings and put 75% in money market ( for use on house down payment) and put 25% in your investments ( I would suggest a ROTH IRA). JC
2007-04-12 09:43:01 · answer #1 · answered by jc 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
For a 22 year old that has a 715 score and an AmEx card with a credit limit of $9200 - it would seem that you are handling your credit wisely.
Since you have a 0% interest rate until October, it's a great opportunity to create a good payment history, which will show on your reports as a positive.
It's always best to have a 0% promo paid off about a month earlier than when the promo originally ends. With the payments you are currently making, you should have it paid off early.
2007-04-12 10:10:54 · answer #2 · answered by echo 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
In my opinion I would keep making the minimum payment until October. After all where can you borrow money at 0% interest? If AMEX doesn't charge a transfer fee you may want to transfer the remaining credit line into your savings account and get either CD's Or treasury bills that our currently paying close to 5% annually. To make the minimum monthly payment just keep enough borrowed money in your checking account. It is a clever way of making money from borrowed funds. If you choose to do that, then do not make any purchases on that credit card . You run the risk of going over your available credit line and losing the 0% rate. With a credit score of 700+ you shouldn't have to much trouble getting a great rate on a loan.
2007-04-12 09:43:49 · answer #3 · answered by nokiddies 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Keep paying on it and completely off. The less debt, the better in preparing for purchasing a house. Do NOT open any more credit cards or lines of credit. Do NOT do anything else, just pay off your debt to the best of your ability. THAT will increase your score. Last I heard, 720 is what is needed to qualify, so you are practically there. Don't do any credit inquiries, just don't do anything. The less activity, the better!
2007-04-12 09:40:54 · answer #4 · answered by Tiffany 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your credit score is boosted by having "available" money. By using up money on your card you are decreasing the money available to you. That technically lowers your score.
ALWAYS pay off your card if you can. That 0% won't be around forever, then you may not have the money to pay it off when you want to.
A 715 is great. Most banks will lend money all the way down to 600.
2007-04-12 09:36:50 · answer #5 · answered by addicted2eu 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Pay off in full if you can. Being debt-free is the way to go and will move your score up a few of points. The least you can do to make your credit score go up is keep paying all your bills on time and make full payments whenever possible. With fall out happening right now and your first mortgage on the way, lenders are somewhat desperately seeking people who are as debt-free as possible to provide them steady revenues. So, the more cash they see is available for you to access, the less risk they see of you defaulting a payment if you end up with a tight budget in the future.
2007-04-12 09:35:59 · answer #6 · answered by homertorpedo 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The first rule of boosting your credit score is to pay all your bills on time....The second rule is to pay off all "revolving" debt - meaning, credit cards. If you want to jack that score up, pay off the card. The credit agencies will like the fact that you have a high limit, but zero (or very low) balance. It may take a couple of months for your score to reflect, but you should do it asap if you want to buy a house..
2007-04-12 09:36:19 · answer #7 · answered by questions1440 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
PAY IT OFF!
you got a sucker card . read the fine fine fine print the card can at any time for any reason increase the rate to 35%. you get bent.
doesn't matter if you do ever thing perfect, they have been know to hold checks up to two weeks after receiving them. you are playing with snakes and you will get bitten hard.
visit daveramsey.com to learn what you haven't been taught and what the credit slave cards pray you never ever learn or worse apply in your money life. how to own your money.
pay your bills off, save up money, buy smaller than banks say you can afford.
read 'house buying for dummies'
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2007-04-12 09:45:00 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Keep your payment higher than what you are asked........don't pay in full either, keep your balance about half way........credit card companies love that........you have debt but you are not struggling and you pay more than asked so they know you do have money!!
Save as much as you can so when you buy your home you can put as much as you can down............I know, no money down means you don't have to pay upfront the money they ask you but the more money you put down the lower your payment will be!!
Good luck!!
2007-04-12 09:38:27 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
If you don't pay it off everymonth it will get ahead of you and then you'll end up getting behind. How timely your payments are is more important than anything, when it comes to your credit score. So if you skip payments it will show up negatively
2007-04-12 09:35:21 · answer #10 · answered by Elizabeth L 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋