Bank's reporting to CA dates

[Anonymous]

I always pay off my credit cards by/before their due date.  I have Privacy Guard and I noticed the monthly report showing that I owe money and a slight drop in my CS.  A search found that banks report to the CA at the end of the month.  So my billing period ends around the 20th of every month and the bill is due on the 16th of the following month.  Although I pay before the 16th, they report what I owe every month and it may look like I'm always carrying a balance.  Not too good....

[lithium78]

The due date and the statement date are two different dates.  Check with your credit card company about the statement date.  It's usually at least a week after your due date.

[OhioCPA]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I always pay off my credit cards by/before their due date.  I have Privacy Guard and I noticed the monthly report showing that I owe money and a slight drop in my CS.  A search found that banks report to the CA at the end of the month.  So my billing period ends around the 20th of every month and the bill is due on the 16th of the following month.  Although I pay before the 16th, they report what I owe every month and it may look like I'm always carrying a balance.  Not too good....

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Correct, what shows on your credit report is the balance as of your statement date. In order to avoid the balance reporting you either need to PIF before the statement cuts on the 20th, or not use the card at all.

While you might see an increase in your credit score by having a zero balance report on all of your cards but one, it is normal use of credit to have a balance report on your statement every month.

[Anonymous]

Last month the last day of the billing period was 1/21/13 and the date to be paid was 2/16/13.  Those are the only dates that I have any concern about.

[Anonymous]

That's what I normally did so this was something different for me to see.