There is no benefit in having a 800 score vs a 750. Below 740 there is real impact, IF you are actually seeking credit

Blogs don't assume you are going to do a balance transfer to use up 60% of your CL. That is a surefire credit score killer.

This may be a silly question, but are you saying that transferring CL to a new card increases the utilization by this number (60%), or moving a balance to a new card causes this?

I don't recall reading that moving a partial CL to a new card would have a negative impact from the move on utilization (is this even if the balance is zero?).

No looks like the OP had a card with X limit which they made a balance transfer to. Then as part of getting a new card, they then reduced the CL on the card that was carrying the balance, thus increasing the utilization %.

Yes, precisely. Chase (unbeknownst to us) took a chunk of credit from one card and moved it to another. It made the utilization ratio on the card with a running balance go way up.

That's a big red flag in the Fico system-- a person desperate for credit applies for new cards and runs up big balances--that person must have hit hard times and be in financial dire straights. A big fat score killer there, for sure.

So, we will still keep the free balance transfer until 2014. I could pay it down or off, and did in fact already knock it down to a less than 50% utilization of the new, lower CL. I may pull credit back off the new card and put the CL on the old card again. Or ask for a credit line increase. Or, just watch and see. I'm just weighing the pros and cons and will most likely just ride it out.

But now I've seen for myself how dramatic the changes to a good Fico can be. This might have the same impact on someone who is running up big balances on cards with gift cards or reloads, if the balances report to the credit Bureaus before they get paid off. Most, but not all, balances get reported at the end of the billing cycle. And, of course, your billing cycle ends and it's several weeks before your bill is actually due. If you wait that long-- ie: run up a big balance and pay it off on the due date, but not before it reports, then it might have more of an affect on your Fico than you expected.

For myself...I'm a little wiser now and have one more data point that I thought would be nice to share with ya'll.

Do they calculate utilization based on total credit limit or each card CL?

Utilization is looked at on a card by card basis. So if your balance is $9000 on a $10,000 limit card, you're at 90% on the card.

CreditKarma reports your total utilization (sum of balance on all cards / sum of available credit on all cards) which is a confusing number, as it would high dings from individual cards being high in utilization

In general if you do plan on using balance transfers, if you can you should transfer CL FROM other cards to the BT transfer target so as to reduce the individual utilization on that card.

What's a good ratio for BT? 50%?

sorry I don't know what the exact thresholds are (not sure they are even public)... obviously the lower the better. ..

There's a threshold at 50% and a threshold at 90%. The common wisdom used to be a BT at 89% of credit limit to totally max out an account, but that was back when interest rates made it worth it. I wouldn't go over 49% these days.
I'd recommend doing a security freeze if you're going over 50%, you'll still probably lose the accounts with the bank you're BTing from, but at least the others won't see it.

Hi FT: Started to do a few CC signups for points/miles last year. Signed up with Credit Sesame which is a FICO proxy. Last year I opened two CC and there wasnt any drops in my credit score. In January I closed the UA MP CC and opened up a Marriott CC. According to Credit Sesame, they estimated a monthly drop from 838 to 789.

Also, the property value jumped 39% from 518,344 to 720,178. That certainly looks good but I doubt that. Is there anyone out there using Credit Sesame seeing large variations in their analytics? I am a little worried about the drop in credit score. My previous credit scores from actual pulls by a financial institution were usually in the high 700s so I thought the CS score was somewhat inflated. Maybe they changed their analytics?

Any advice would be appreciated.

not like scores really matter past 760, and 720 at most banks, if a 760 bank doesn't give you the best rates just go to another one. Regardless what probably set your score down was AAOA for average age of accounts.

For instance if you had 3 cards and only 3 cards for 10 years your AAOA is 10 years. Add 2 new cards and then your AAOA dropped to 4 years. AAOA accounts for about 15% of your scores. this is the reason why most people have to be in their 40's for a close to perfect score (Fico CEO's words)

Regardless it's just a number, doesn't really matter. I don't even have a 2 year credit card history and I'm at AAOA of 9 months right now, and finished my 2nd successful churn and have over 100k in credit limits and multiple cards at the best rates possible. My Fico EQ was at 721, now it's down to 719 after 2 inquiries. To max out my cards but restrict my inquiries I app for banks that pull only certain credit bureaus. I did 2 on EQ EX and TU each for total of 6 apps, but only registers 2 inquiries to each bureau which is fine for me.

Remember bloggers aren't to blame because they post up their own experiences with credit score and drops in credit after app sprees. The damage for inquiries eventually maxes out. I went and applied for 20 things when I didn't know any better and got turned down for everything minus a Kays jeweler card. Once I removed EVERYTHING bad on my credit file by sending intention to sue letters to all my creditors which bad accounts, I applied for more cards was approved for everything with a 760 score and my credit score didn't budge at all. My credit scores are down a little now since I cashed out a lot of money from my credit card to buy a house. (cash only property) and my card company doesn't charge me cash advance fees which was ideal. Especially because I then transfered the balance to my parent's card, on their new card (i churn for them lol) then transferred it back 2 months later for a 0% transfer 0% for 12 month promotion.

I have come recently to the miles and points game. At first I didn't know what was going on so I jumped on various cash back cards. But then I heard about high bonuses and the nuances of miles and points. So I applied for a few more. I originally started with 2 cards but in a matter of 2 weeks I applied and obtained approval for 9 cards (putting me well over 100,000 USD line of credit).

In the middle of my spree (when I had only applied for 2 cards), I checked my credit ratings. My FICO score was 809 and my Credit Karma Transunion score was 769. After one week and 7 more applications, my Karma rating dropped 46 points to 723. Wow, was I shocked! According to Karma, I get an F on Age of Credit history as my oldest account is only 5 years and the average account ages is a measly 1 year and 3 months. I don't know what how my true FICO score has been effected as I am reluctant to spend the 19-20 USD to get the report. According to CreditKarma my Vantage Score is 840.

I wanted to get some better cards that I missed but decided to lay low for now. Fortunately I am not planning on taking on any loans for many years and have no outstanding debt (no mortgages) whatsoever so I think I am OK.

How long do I need to wait do you think before things change and I am able to get back in the game?

Bumping this thread to ask a question that is relevant to my situation.

I have been engaging in some moderate churning... the opportunities are not nearly as great in Canada as they are in the US, so that alone limits what I do. At the moment I have about 6 CCs on the go (all < 1 year) with about that many cancelled in the past year. Balances on all are religiously paid in full every month.

I have a mortgage and a LOC (with nothing owing), and I do not anticipate borrowing anytime soon. HOWEVER, the 5-year term on my 25-year mortgage is expiring soon.

My question is this: if my score has dropped a little as a result of multiple apps over the past year, what (if any) impact is that likely to have on my mortgage renewal?

A) there are many different scores
B) my real Fico was just below 800 and "number of cards with a balance" had a higher effect than new cards
C) I applied and got 5-10 new cards and the score is virtually unchanged
D) utilization is mostly the reason for a drop in my score
E) Amex ie can help as the new cards can increase the average age of account
F) new cards with higher limits can oddest that small dip for Inquireries
G) pay to play / play at your own risk
H) wait a couple of month and report back

Heraclitus - Have you checked your credit score? that is probably the easiest way to know the impact of your activities. You can get a free trial and score at myfico.com. Most of the FAKOs were so off that I stopped checking.

Your post does not indicate if you are allowing your cards to close with a balance and then paying it off in full or if you are paying most of your charges before statement close. I am a Midwest bumpkin who had score in 820s, but now runs around 790-813. I paid to monitor the crap out of the score for an entire year to double check what I read/learned against my own experience. (BTW 84 Fiero and MDTR Chicago have oodles of very insightful posts that you can "stalk" by clicking their names and then all posts for a nice read). If you have 6 CCs all closing with balances of $100 it will negatively more than if you have one card closing with a balance of $1k. By monitoring closing dates and paying off to zero the majority of the cards, I.e. all but 1-2, you can quickly improve your score.

OP- I had two cards cause a 20 pt. drop when I first started as well. With a long history, it recovers rapidly. if you are obsessive, then pay to monitor and read up.