Amount owed on revolving accounts is too high

FICO code numbers

Code numbers can differ by bureau and score version. The wording of the statement is what to match.

What puts this reason on your score

Revolving accounts include credit cards, store cards and lines of credit. A person with $40,000 in limits and $9,000 in balances is at 22.5% utilization ($9,000 divided by $40,000), yet $9,000 of card debt can still draw this code. FICO lists amounts owed on specific account types as one of the things it weighs.

When this code and code 10 show up together, they're two views of the same card debt. Paying cards down works on both at once, which makes this pair a better target than codes you can only wait out.

What to check on your credit report

• Total the balances on every card and line of credit on that bureau's report.
• Look for a store card or personal line of credit you forgot was carrying a balance.
• Confirm that a card you paid off last month now shows the lower balance.

What you can do about it

• Pay down the largest card balances you can before their statement dates.
• If you move card debt into a personal loan, the revolving total drops, but you add an inquiry, a new account and an installment balance.
• Keep paid-down cards open so their limits stay in your utilization math.

The free card payoff calculator can help with this step.

How soon a change can show

The total updates as each card reports, usually once a month around the statement date. Each round of monthly updates shows the new total.

If you are applying for a mortgage

Card minimum payments count in your debt-to-income ratio, so paying cards down before you apply can help the score and the ratio together. If cash is limited, ask the lender which balances to pay first.

Guides that go deeper

• The score math of paying off cards with a personal loanA personal loan can drop card utilization to near zero. How it compares with a balance transfer and home equity on cost and on your credit report.
• Debt snowball vs. avalanche, worked out in dollarsWe ran four real-looking debts through both payoff methods month by month. Avalanche saved $167 here, snowball won its first payoff 9 months sooner.
• How balance transfers affect your credit scoreA balance transfer moves debt, it doesn't shrink it. What a new card does to inquiries and utilization, and when the 3% to 5% fee pays for itself.
• What your credit score reason codes are telling youReason codes list what held your score back the most, in order. What the common ones mean, which you can act on, and which to leave alone.