No credit card required
Browse credit cards from a variety of issuers to see if there's a better card for you.
I just received a new cc card(unsecured) from my bank. I opened this new account because I want to raise my credit score and because I had no revolving credit. Anyway, after reading many of the posts here I'm hearing a lot about paying off full bal each month. So, my question is when should I make the payments; a few days before the statement comes out (which I do not know when), or soon after I receive the statement??? Help me out here.
What's important is that you try to pay the statement balance each month. When you pay it is up to you.
If you want to maximize your FICO score, the way to do that would be to go online and pay your balance 2-3 days before your statement will cut. You may have to call your credit card company to find out your statement date. Some of my cards have the same statement date each month, and some vary by a day or two.
Congratulations on your new card!
@missypants wrote:
Why not pay it as soon as the bill comes?
Hi missypants...
Most people do wait until their statement comes and then pay in full. If trying to maximize FICO, however, that doesn't work well.
Even if you pay in full when you get the statement, it is the statement balance that is reported to the credit bureau. So, for example, if I had a $5k credit limit card, and I charged $4.5k on it this month, and I pay it off when I get the bill, that's all OK. The problem is that $4.5k debt on a $5k card is a 90% utilization rate...and that's what my FICO score would be based on because the $4.5k was reported to the credit bureau.
My husband and I found that out when we applied for a mortgage on an investment property. We put on the app that we had no credit card debt. Then we got the call from the loan officer asking about the $6k in credit card debt that showed on our reports. We had paid it off when we got the statement, but it still showed and was counted in our FICO.
Many people pay before the statement cuts only when they are trying to tweak their scores for a mortgage, car loan, etc. But...remember...it takes an entire reporting cycle to change that reporting, so...for us...it's easier to just do it out of habit.
@rosa29617 wrote:I just received a new cc card(unsecured) from my bank. I opened this new account because I want to raise my credit score and because I had no revolving credit. Anyway, after reading many of the posts here I'm hearing a lot about paying off full bal each month. So, my question is when should I make the payments; a few days before the statement comes out (which I do not know when), or soon after I receive the statement??? Help me out here.
Congratulations on receipt of your new card. To prevent a balance from showing on your credit reports, you want to PIF before the due date. When PIF prior to the due date, you do not want to use the card again until after the statement generates.
You have to know what day of month they report to credit bureaus. Post the bank and someone here can tell you.
You need to pay online to play this game well. In addition to making your normal payment. You should pay the current balance online a few days before report date, and don't charge anything until after the report date. Then you can hit zero balance.
You only need to play this game if you are planning to apply for credit or credit increase soon.
From what I have read, and only having 1 account. I think having a balance of less than 10% utilization would give you almost the same score as zero balance.
Okay wolf3, I understand that part; so how do lenders view a zero balance? For instance, If my report shows a zero bal at the time I apply for new credit, how will the new lender know that I pay on time. Doesn't a zero bal appear as if I never used the card? Again, if I pay or have paid my cc bal in full each month for maybe six month, then apply for new credit, how will a lender know I made payments on time if there is a zero bal?
rosa29617 wrote:
Okay wolf3, I understand that part; so how do lenders view a zero balance? For instance, If my report shows a zero bal at the time I apply for new credit, how will the new lender know that I pay on time. Doesn't a zero bal appear as if I never used the card? Again, if I pay or have paid my cc bal in full each month for maybe six month, then apply for new credit, how will a lender know I made payments on time if there is a zero bal?