Should I apply for more credit to reduce my utilisation?

Humdinga

Hi all

My credit usage is high and CRAs say I need to reduce it to improve my credit score.

so if I applied for a 0% balance transfer card, would this work? So I would increase the amount of credit available to me and hence reduce my usage

then make payments on the interest free balance

or is still to simplistic approach?

cheers

Sncjw

Or maybe just pay down your balance 

Humdinga

Sncjw said:

Or maybe just pay down your balance 

Yes, just wondered if reducing my usage by applying for more credit would improve my credit quicker than the 9-12 months to pay down my balances?

[Deleted User]

Ignore your credit score and any suggestions to change it.

If you can move interest bearing debt to 0%, then do that.

Don't apply for credit you don't need.

MrFrugalFever

It amazes me what I get greeted with on the free reporting websites (credit karma, ClearScore and MSE). 

In Dec I took out a 0% purchase credit card with a limit of £1,500. I wanted to spend £1,300 straight away and then pay this back over the duration of the 0% offer. I could have used savings and not the CC but it’s 0% and I am continuing to build my credit history back up so to me it made sense. 

I am now greeted with varying messages from ‘you are using a high amount of credit’, ‘your credit utilisation is higher than 50%’, ‘You have used more than 75% of your total credit limit in the last 1 month’ etc....well yes, that was the whole idea!!!

Anyway, I pay this down each month to ensure its paid off by end of 0% so it will go back to low credit utilisation but....very silly really. 

Sncjw

So if you pass affordability you will have extra source of credit and extra temptation to use it. 

You might tigh oh we have a high overall limit let's spend on this card and we'll be fine 

sourcrates

Humdinga said:

Hi all

My credit usage is high and CRAs say I need to reduce it to improve my credit score.

so if I applied for a 0% balance transfer card, would this work? So I would increase the amount of credit available to me and hence reduce my usage

then make payments on the interest free balance

or is still to simplistic approach?

cheers

These companies are always feeding you stats, most of it is complete and utter rubbish.

Just concentrate on having a good credit history, and don`t worry about the sideshows, the CRA are the ones who produce the fictitious credit score in the first place, so them telling you to take out further credit in order to improve a number that they conjure up, in common sense terms is just silly.