Be Honest: Have you Carried a balance on a CC?

[Anonymous]

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@SunriseEarth wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

A lot of people that aren't really used to the term PIF (Paid In Full) can be confused (like myself).

However, this is my definition of PIF. 

I always carry a balance on all my cards (including the most talked about Amex) and have it reported.

I always pay the statement balance not the total balance on the card. This is also an alternative way to avoid interest charge. I can pay the full amount if I choose too, but I'm lazy to calculate the pending balances, future charges and such. The whole point is to avoid interest. 

This is my justification as to why I choose to take this path (letting it report) rather than paying the WHOLE balance owed and no report.

You all know that the 3 credit bureaus have no idea if your paying the whole balance full or not.

I looked closely at my credit report it discloses xmount bal, scheduled pay, actual pay every cycle. 

I want lenders to see my history of useages and payments for a prominent evaluation (i.e. better credit limit or whatever else it may help).

Many may argue or disagree to my belief, but nevertheless, no matter what method is used, as long as we get there (DON'T PAY INTEREST) is the same.

Advice, Credit card is not a magic free money card. Consider it as a debit card and only charge if you have the money. If your planning on getting Auto/Home Loan, as mentioned in other threads, keep your ultil below 10% or 0 to maximize your score.

Hope it helped.

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I wouldn't consider that "carrying a balance," but rather "letting a balance post."   So long as your posted balance is an acceptable percent of your CL, this pattern is perfectly acceptable to use your credit and to avoid interest.

For example, my SO's roommate has a Delta Gold with a $35K CL.   His spend is $1500 a month.   That is the balance that posts on statement close; then, he'll pay off that balance during the next statement period prior to the due date.   So he always shows ~4% UTIL on this card at statement close.   I would consider that to be PIF, since he his paying his full statement balance.   However, if he were to only pay $500 of that balance by the due date, then $1000 would revolve into the next month.   That would be "carrying a balance"...which he wouldn't do, since he's not a fan of interest.

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Like I said previously, people have different meanings to PIF. 

I consider it "carrying a balance" because like few others have stated, they don't want debt and want to pay everything before statement cuts vs report and pay all new charges as well with the previous charge.

Once the statement closes on a particular date, it may take couple days for you to see your statement. Addition to that, it may take another 2 weeks or more to initiate a payment. So those weeks you accumulate more charges (even though the new charges aren't billed) you will still see the balance when you pay.

Thats is why I say I do carry a balance because I don't pay my new charges.

Everyone has their preference and definition. This is mine

[Kostya1992]

No. But I let my balances report (unless they're really high) instead of PIF before statement cuts like most people in this thread seem to. That way lenders see that I actually use the cards and pay them off instead of just maintaining a 0 balance.

[NRB525]

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@Anonymous wrote:

 I PIF every card except one BEFORE the statement cuts and the one card I let report is only a few dollars, and I pay that off way before the due date.

This ^^^^ is exactly what I do. Now I'm not sure if that even qualifies as carrying a balance. Basically all my statements close on the 7th, I let one balance report and then pay that off by the 15th. And its solely for score optimization purposes since FICO seems to frown upon those who are completely debt free.

Why I dont know but I dont make these crazy rules!

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Out of curiosity, if you did not pay all but one prior to statement cut date, what would your overall utilization be at statement cut date?

And IMO, you paying prior to statement cut date is at least two steps removed from any possible definition of "carry a balance".

[Anonymous]

Its been around 6%, was 3% the previous month. This month it should be 5%.

Thank you for clarifying After reading through other responses I agree. Not carrying a balance just letting one report

[chalupaman]

Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't quite honestly. On Amex though I'm especially careful and have even PIF several times with them and the store cards are the same. In any case, I make sure that my utilization on whatever cards I'm carrying balances on isn't that big compared to the credit limit and that it never gets anywhere near or beyond 30% of the whole limit. My overall utilization remains under 10% consistently every month. I'm also much more likely to do that when the card's APR is lower. Try not to have those kinds of balances on the much higher APR cards generally.

[Open123]

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@BeeH11 wrote:

Hello!

1. I feel like most people on here state they PIF all/most of the time. Really? Or is that only after you found this site? Be honest.

2. Other than paying interest? Why is not PIF such a bad thing?

If you have zero to low interest and keep your utilization low, is it still considered a bad thing?

(I have avg interest and not low util so I know it's not good for me.)

3. For those of you who have read some of my prior posts, you know I have high utilization but that's about to change. Should I be worried that my credit card companies are going to close my accounts or cut my limits once I pay off the balances?

My only experience related to this is when I had a Citi student credit card. Had it for a while and would run it up for school and pay it down during the summer, then run it up next school year, etc... I graduated college right when the market went bust. I couldn't find a job for 6 months after graduating and only paid the minimum, but I always did pay and never late. After a few months, they closed my account and I paid it off ASAP.

4. I would also like to know if any of you carried a (high) balance for a while, then paid it down and the account was closed or limit cut.

(For reference, I never pay late and I always pay more than the minimum but sometimes not much more than the minimum).

Thanks guys! I'm so glad I found this sight b/c everyone's experiences have taught me so much!

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1.  During my college years, I not only carried a balance, but lived beyond my means resulting in a period of gross financial mismanagement.  Fortunately, after college, I've been in a position to PIF all of my debts.

2.  Aside from cost of money (interest), carrying a balance is not a bad thing at all.  There are times when carrying a balance is more prudent than PIF.  For instance, rather than PIF, it is infintely more financially prudent to carry a 0% promo rate.  Or, benefits derived from financing exceeds the cost of borrowing, then it makes sense to carry the balance, rather than forgoing the benefits derived, just because one can't PIF.  Finally, if there's interest and one doesn't need to carry the balance, then PIF is the best option. Every year, I take out a 0% cash advance and invest it.  I pay the minimum monthly, then a final balloon payment before the promo rate ends.  My return on the money exceeds the cost (in this case, 0% and 1% cash advance fee).  

3.  High utility may lead to AA such as balance chasing or CLIs, but asbent of other negative data points, most issuers will not initiate AA.

4.  No, I've never experienced this.

Finally, there's a mantra here where anyone who doesn't PIF is somehow irresponsible.  The notion than anything other than PIF is acceptable is short sighted, overly simplistic, and extremely obtuse.  As with all financial decisions, they should be based on a cost vs. benefit analysis for each respective scenario.  

[Imperfectfuture]

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@Membersince2013 wrote:

Only carry a balance on 0% APR cards.

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Same here, which is why I like to stagger apps.

[Anonymous]

About $7,000 on 0% offers.

[rlx01]

I used to micromanage my balances for optimal FICO scoring. But since I don't plan to app for anything in the near future, I now let balances report and autopay takes care of it.

23-55 day of float is worth 10-20 points.

[vpae]

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@BeeH11 wrote:

Hello! Hi!

1. I feel like most people on here state they PIF all/most of the time. Really? Or is that only after you found this site? Be honest. Depends on the card, the purchase. I've done both.

2. Other than paying interest? Why is not PIF such a bad thing? I like seeing $0 balance if possible

If you have zero to low interest and keep your utilization low, is it still considered a bad thing? Depends if I'm trying to improve my score

3. For those of you who have read some of my prior posts, you know I have high utilization but that's about to change. Should I be worried that my credit card companies are going to close my accounts or cut my limits once I pay off the balances? No

4. I would also like to know if any of you carried a (high) balance for a while, then paid it down and the account was closed or limit cut.

I have carried a high balance on quite a few cards. I paid them down and nothing happened, no AA 

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