Hot take: My dad told me to pay off my oldest credit card first and I think he was wrong

My dad has been my go-to for credit tips since I turned 18, and he always told me to pay off my oldest card first to keep my average account age healthy. I followed that for two years but my score barely moved, stuck around 670. Then a friend in Denver who works at a credit union suggested I focus on the card with the highest utilization instead, which was a store card with a $500 limit that I had $400 on. I paid that off in two months and my score jumped 45 points. Now I'm questioning if his advice is just outdated or if it depends on your specific debt mix. What's your take on which balance to target first?

4 comments

4 Comments

emma_jones3mo ago

Oh man, I had the exact same thing happen! I was so focused on keeping my oldest card alive but realized my score actually started moving once I tackled the high balance cards first. That utilization thing is no joke, it really makes a bigger difference than I thought.

kimblack1mo ago

Read a FICO breakdown article last week that explained it way better than I could, basically said utilization is actually like 30% of your score which is wild when you think about it. @the_drew your old man had a point about the long game but I think the short term stuff matters more than people give it credit for. Once I paid down my store cards from like 80% to 30% utilization my score jumped like 40 points in a month. The aging thing is important too don't get me wrong but it moves way slower so it's easy to get discouraged. Feels like you gotta hit both angles to really see results.

hannahj493mo agoTop Commenter

Think your dad was talking about long-term aging, not your immediate score boost.

the_drew3mo ago

Yeah you're probably right about that. I had this same talk with my old man and realized he meant the cards you play long term eventually catch up to you. Just keep paying on time and don't stress the short term stuff, it'll sort itself out.