Therefore, your new
overall credit cards utilization ratio will increase to 29.60 %.
The credit utilization of each card is as follows: Card 1, 0 %; Card 2, 30 % and Card 3, 29 % while
the overall credit cards utilization ratio is 18.5 %.
Going by our formula, the credit utilization ratios for cards 1, 2 and 3 will be 20 %, 40 % and 20.83 % while
the overall credit cards utilization ratio is 22.07 %.
Also, we shall look at how the balances on different credit cards can impact
your overall credit card utilization ratio.
Not exact matches
For instance, if you have one
card with a $ 10,000
credit limit and a zero balance, and another
card with a $ 5,000 limit and a $ 4,000 balance, your
overall utilization ratio is 27 percent.
Mr B overshoot the benchmark of 30 % on
Card 2 but the lower
credit utilization rates on
Cards 1 and 3 were able to drag the
overall ratio down to 22.07 %.
Any slight increase in the balance of any of the remaining two
credit cards will not only increase the
credit utilization of the
card, it will make the
overall credit utilization ratio to jump above 30 %.
If you apply for a new
credit card, the
credit limit will be added to your
overall credit limit, lowering your
credit utilization ratio, which will raise your
credit score.
Overall, a good rule of thumb when making a
credit card payment is to make a payment whenever your
credit utilization ratio starts to rise to that 30 % mark, regardless of when your bill is actually due.
Now don't just go out and open up a new
credit card, thinking that it will give you more available
credit and lower your
overall credit utilization ratio.
That's because your
credit -
utilization ratio is calculated for balances on individual
cards as well as
overall.
However, if you have more than one
credit card, the
credit scoring company will have to consider the
credit utilization ratios for the individual
card and the
overall cards respectively.
Looking at the illustration above, the
overall credit utilization ratio is okay while that of
Card A is too high.
Canceling the account might shorten the
overall length of your
credit history, and if you owe any money on other
cards, eliminating a
credit line will increase your
credit utilization ratio.
Even if your
overall debt to
credit ratio is good because you have other
cards, the fact that the
utilization rate on that one
card is so high will not bode well for your
credit score.