Local credit counselor give advice to consumers paying bills with credit cards

According to the Associated Press, large credit card issuers like JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, and American Express saw stability in credit card delinquency rates.

Although the rates are stable for now… many people are using credit cards to pay bills due to the loss of income.

“We do recommend consumers to pay some of their household bills with their credit card however you need to pay that balance off in full before the reporting date", says local credit expert, Brisanel Whisnant-Jones.

Whisnant-Jones says she recommends consumers paying some large bills with their credit cards, but it can have long term effects if not done properly.

“The ideal goal is to keep your credit card balance below 30% that’s good, 20% that great, 10% that’s excellent, but if you are over the 30% threshold of your credit card balances that negatively affects your credit score", she adds.

She says the goal is to keep your credit balance percentage low and there is a simple formula to determine the percentage.

“Get your credit card balance below, down to at least 20%, by doing that you can take your credit limit of your credit card, divide it by your balance that you have outstanding and multiple that by 100. Then you will then see where you are at with your credit card percentage", says Whisnant-Jones.