Credit card cut off date??

pisspoorcredit · ‎08-05-2014

How do I figure out when my credit card's billing cycle ends? To obtain maximum credit boost should I make sure the balance is paid down right before the bill cuts and if so by how many days? Is this based off when the bill is due every month? The reason I'm trying to figure this out is to see WHEN to pay the balance before a bill is cut, so that balance can be reported. I think I just partially answered my question...but I really want to get this down to a science before getting another card. Any input would greatly help. Thanks

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jim44 · ‎08-05-2014

The billing cycle is usually 30 days. Does your CC have a grace period for purchases? If you have an online account with them, your cut off date for your billing cycle will usually be noted on your account and/or on your statement.

ezdoesit · ‎08-05-2014

@pisspoorcredit wrote:
How do I figure out when my credit card's billing cycle ends? To obtain maximum credit boost should I make sure the balance is paid down right before the bill cuts and if so by how many days? Is this based off when the bill is due every month? The reason I'm trying to figure this out is to see WHEN to pay the balance before a bill is cut, so that balance can be reported. I think I just partially answered my question...but I really want to get this down to a science before getting another card. Any input would greatly help. Thanks

Every CCC is different. Look at your statement it should say right on there ex. Statement period 8/1-8/31. When you figure that out I would make a payment 4-5 days prior to the end of the statement for you to show that lowest util. That is providing you don't make any more payments after that. Remember if you don't pay you balance to zero then there will still be another minimum payment when the statement cuts.

pisspoorcredit · ‎08-05-2014

@ezdoesit wrote:
@pisspoorcredit wrote:
How do I figure out when my credit card's billing cycle ends? To obtain maximum credit boost should I make sure the balance is paid down right before the bill cuts and if so by how many days? Is this based off when the bill is due every month? The reason I'm trying to figure this out is to see WHEN to pay the balance before a bill is cut, so that balance can be reported. I think I just partially answered my question...but I really want to get this down to a science before getting another card. Any input would greatly help. Thanks
Every CCC is different. Look at your statement it should say right on there ex. Statement period 8/1-8/31. When you figure that out I would make a payment 4-5 days prior to the end of the statement for you to show that lowest util. That is providing you don't make any more payments after that. Remember if you don't pay you balance to zero then there will still be another minimum payment when the statement cuts.

AAAAH-HAAA! Well, the statement I'm currently in is for dates 7/23-8/05(lol today). I made a payment 4 days ago that brought my utilization down to about 15-20%. So i'm guessing about now is when theyre gonna report my balance, correct? My payment is not actually due until the 18th.

Starting Score: 503
Current Score: 510
Goal Score: 700

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pisspoorcredit · ‎08-05-2014

@jim44 wrote:
The billing cycle is usually 30 days. Does your CC have a grace period for purchases? If you have an online account with them, your cut off date for your billing cycle will usually be noted on your account and/or on your statement.

I believe so. My payment always seem to be due on the 18th, but my statement periods always start around the 23rd. Billing cycle exactly 30 days.

Starting Score: 503
Current Score: 510
Goal Score: 700

Take the myFICO Fitness Challenge

Anonymous · ‎08-05-2014

@pisspoorcredit wrote:
How do I figure out when my credit card's billing cycle ends? To obtain maximum credit boost should I make sure the balance is paid down right before the bill cuts and if so by how many days? Is this based off when the bill is due every month? The reason I'm trying to figure this out is to see WHEN to pay the balance before a bill is cut, so that balance can be reported. I think I just partially answered my question...but I really want to get this down to a science before getting another card. Any input would greatly help. Thanks

You should be able to view them online or in the statement. If it does not show up (as Barclay), you can always call or send a secured message. Another way to look at statement closing date is the minimum payment due date, which usually predates the closing dates by 3~5 (varying by banks) days.

Regarding pre-emptive payment, it's definitely a good idea to pay down your balance before statement closing date to <10%. That means your balance will be less than 10% of your CL and your util is less than 10%. That helps a LOT.

But one trick worth mentioning is BoA and Chase (as far as I know) report High Balance that can exceeds statement balance. For instance you buy a $900 laptop using your 1k credit card, you will get a High Balance of $900, even if you pay that down to $50 quickly after the transaction is posted. That being said, it is unclear how High Balance would impact your credit score. If anyone has any information to share it would be appreciated.

ezdoesit · ‎08-05-2014

@pisspoorcredit wrote:
@ezdoesit wrote:
@pisspoorcredit wrote:
How do I figure out when my credit card's billing cycle ends? To obtain maximum credit boost should I make sure the balance is paid down right before the bill cuts and if so by how many days? Is this based off when the bill is due every month? The reason I'm trying to figure this out is to see WHEN to pay the balance before a bill is cut, so that balance can be reported. I think I just partially answered my question...but I really want to get this down to a science before getting another card. Any input would greatly help. Thanks
Every CCC is different. Look at your statement it should say right on there ex. Statement period 8/1-8/31. When you figure that out I would make a payment 4-5 days prior to the end of the statement for you to show that lowest util. That is providing you don't make any more payments after that. Remember if you don't pay you balance to zero then there will still be another minimum payment when the statement cuts.
AAAAH-HAAA! Well, the statement I'm currently in is for dates 7/23-8/05(lol today). I made a payment 4 days ago that brought my utilization down to about 15-20%. So i'm guessing about now is when theyre gonna report my balance, correct? My payment is not actually due until the 18th.

Also since you paid 4 days they are going to report the balance at the close of business today. Most CCC report that balance a few days after statement ends. I mention before since you didn't pay the balance down to zero you will still have another payment to make because it will now be based on your total remaining balance today.

Honestly unless you are looking to apply for credit in the next week or so I think this is to much work, because that part of Fico scoring can change from month to month. Why the needless stress to beat the cut off if you don't have to. As long as you pay the balance before the due date you are not paying any interest anyway. JMO.

longtimelurker · ‎08-05-2014

A few banks, best known is US Bank, report at the end of the month, regardless of when the statement cuts. So what is reported on your CR isn't usually the same as the final balance on your statement

But ezdoesit is right, micromanaging utilization is really not needed by most people most of the time. Only if you have an "important" app, particularly a mortgage for example, AND your score is borderline for some border! So even if not doing it would reduce your score from say 790 to 770 (shock horror, 20 points...!!!) that will often make no real difference to anything.