% credit used on experian

worriedwilf

Hi

Is there an 'ideal' figure for % credit used. At the moment mine is way too high at 73% used but i am paying off debt quickly and was wondering at what point it would become 'acceptable'. I did a google search and it looks like 30% or below is preferable????

Tixy

Different lenders have different (unpublished) preferences.

Generally the lower the better but its not a stand alone figure, the bank consider this in conjunction with the actual values of your debts and credit.

Under 50% is certainly likely to be preferable than over.
Under 30% is likely to be even better.

Cycrow

of course, having only 5% used, but very high limit could also look bad because lenders will question why you want more credit with alot already available.

but it does depend on the lender, and what type of credit you are actually applying for

techspec

Experian used to say going over two thirds was a no-no - so 66.6% max.

So get below this and you will be in a much better position - as not being too near your credit limits means your not desperate.

PrincessLou

Just out of interest - how do you find out how much percentage credit you have used? I never knew you could find this out from somewhere.

Tixy

PrincessLou wrote: »

Just out of interest - how do you find out how much percentage credit you have used? I never knew you could find this out from somewhere.

By comparing the total amount you owe, to the total amount of credit you have available to you (used and unsed).

brendon

It of course depends on the lender, and is considered with all the other information about you. But, this graph from Credit Karma suggests the best utilisation rate is 1-10%, with the "credit score" becoming worse as the utilisation increases. Having 0% utilisation is worse than having 1-10%, however.

wiseshark

The Credit Karma graph is interesting and indicates that a 0% credit utilisation is worse than a utilisation in the range 1-40 per cent.

It may well be the case in the USA, but is the same in the UK?

techspec

PrincessLou wrote: »

Just out of interest - how do you find out how much percentage credit you have used? I never knew you could find this out from somewhere.

Credit expert from Experian tells you - but don't bother - its a waste of money.

As stated above - you can work it all out yourself.