Credit Utilisation Calculator: Your % and What to Pay Off
Credit utilisation calculator: add each card's balance and limit to see your overall %, what to pay off to hit your target, and what closing a card does.
Credit utilisation is the share of your available credit you are using: add up the balances on your credit cards, divide by the total of their limits, and that percentage is what lenders and the credit reference agencies see. It is worked out across all your cards, which is why it can jump without you spending a penny. Owe £1,200 across two cards with £2,000 limits each and you are at 30%; close the unused card and the same £1,200 is now 60% of your available credit. Enter each card's balance and limit below to see your overall and per-card figures, how much you would need to pay off to reach your target, and what closing a card would do before you do it.
Work out your credit utilisation
How credit utilisation is worked out
The sum is simple: total card balances divided by total card limits, times 100. Two cards with £500 owed on a £1,000 limit and £0 owed on a £4,000 limit give £500 out of £5,000, which is 10% overall, even though the first card on its own is at 50%. That is why this calculator shows both: a lender checking your file sees each card's balance and limit, so it can work out the overall figure and the per-card figures alike.
Three ways to bring the number down
- Pay before the statement date, not the due date. The balance on your statement is usually the one that gets reported. Paying a chunk a few days before the statement is produced lowers the figure that lands on your file, even if you clear the full amount every month anyway.
- Keep unused cards open. A card you never use still adds its limit to the total. Unless it charges an annual fee, closing it usually pushes your percentage up, which you can test with the "Close this card?" box above.
- Ask about a limit increase with care. A higher limit lowers your percentage on the same spending, so ask your provider whether the request involves a hard search first, and only do it if you trust yourself not to spend into the extra room.
For the wider picture, including how long each change takes to show, read how to improve your credit score with an app. If the balances themselves are the problem, the credit card payoff calculator shows how long they will take to clear and what it costs in interest.
