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IS IT OK TO NOT "PIF" EVERY MONTH?

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trying_to_B_good
Contributor

IS IT OK TO NOT "PIF" EVERY MONTH?

Hi fellow myficoers,

 

My question is simple.  Is it ok to not pay in full each month but still pay way more than the minimum?  will my score continue to go up as long as i dont miss any payments?  I know that paying in full is the best way to get those glorious CLI's but what about say, pay $100 on each credit card (with 200-300 balances) each month for a year; and, at the end of that year, pay everything off except one cc (under 10% util)?

 

Will my scores continue to increase?

 

Thanks for your time yall

AUBURN                                                       Smiley Tongue

Message 1 of 9
8 REPLIES 8
inthewoods
New Contributor

Re: IS IT OK TO NOT "PIF" EVERY MONTH?

As far as your score is concerned, there is no “memory” of how much balances you’ve kept. So, yes, your score will continue to go up, and once you pay down your balances it will be as high as though you’d always PIF’d.

 

Note, however, that you don’t get the benefits of interest-free grace periods if you do not PIF, and that you will be paying finance charges.

 

Some CC companies will be more likely to increase your limits if you PIF; others don’t mind seeing a small balance.

Message 2 of 9
trying_to_B_good
Contributor

Re: IS IT OK TO NOT "PIF" EVERY MONTH?


@inthewoods wrote:

As far as your score is concerned, there is no “memory” of how much balances you’ve kept. So, yes, your score will continue to go up, and once you pay down your balances it will be as high as though you’d always PIF’d.

 

Note, however, that you don’t get the benefits of interest-free grace periods if you do not PIF, and that you will be paying finance charges.

 

Some CC companies will be more likely to increase your limits if you PIF; others don’t mind seeing a small balance.


 

Thanks "inthewoods"........I'm not outta the wood yet either! HA

 

Message 3 of 9
rustystick
New Contributor

Re: IS IT OK TO NOT "PIF" EVERY MONTH?

yes it's okay to not pay in full.. but you will be accumulating interest charges... by the list of cards you are having (store cards) APRs are not that cheap (16-25%).

 

p.s. some banks probably rather you not pay in full because they make moar $$... but then again, the whole reason why people are trying to get higher tiered cards are to get better rewards.. and the interest out weights rewards easily.

 

I think my point is, do what you want, as far as credit score goes, doesn't matter as long you pay more than minimum. But financially, it would be a good idea to pay for all of it just to advoid interest charges.

CSP 10k 0 Discover It 7.8k AmazonVisa 3k Freedom 1500 US Bank Cash Rewards 1500 BofA123 3300 SallieMae 3800
Message 4 of 9
trying_to_B_good
Contributor

Re: IS IT OK TO NOT "PIF" EVERY MONTH?

thanks rusty!

Message 5 of 9
Creditaddict
Legendary Contributor

Re: IS IT OK TO NOT "PIF" EVERY MONTH?

I say yes you can carry a balance that's what credit cards were invented for... IF you can pay in full or if you only use credit cards for interest or some kind of purchase protection... if you are not paying in full then you are canceling out your rewards and if you can afford to PIF but pay interest because you think it builds score better... it's rare that that holds true and it would not be my choice.

Do your best to pay in full or as fast as you can and don't beat yourself up if you have to carry a little bit Smiley Happy

Message 6 of 9
Gunnar419
Valued Contributor

Re: IS IT OK TO NOT "PIF" EVERY MONTH?

+1 on what others have said.

 

I often do what OP is proposing, not PIF, but pay three or four times the minimum. As long as my balances keep dropping and AAoA keeps growing, my score goes up.

 

There are some cards that definitely prefer to see balances when deciding whether to give CLIs. Discover and Barclays are two that seem to be more generous when you run balances.

 

OP, one thing to consider though is if you're going to do this, it's best to do it only with a minority of your cards. Having all or most of your cards reporting with balances is one of those things FICO doesn't like. You will get dinged even if the amounts are small. So if you have 9 cards, don't let more than 4 report, if you have 5 cards, don't let more than 2 report and so on.

 

We're not talking about the best way to get a high score, just the best way to run balances without too much hurt.

 

Message 7 of 9
Repo-ed
Senior Contributor

Re: IS IT OK TO NOT "PIF" EVERY MONTH?

By not PIF'ing, you QUICKLY lose the value of the miles/points/cash back % you signed-up for.

5/2012: 560 credit scores across the board
12/2014: 750+
3/2017: 780+
11/2019: 833
2/2023: Experian via Chase United Explorer CC pull - 891
Message 8 of 9
longtimelurker
Epic Contributor

Re: IS IT OK TO NOT "PIF" EVERY MONTH?


@Gunnar419 wrote:

+1 on what others have said.

 

There are some cards that definitely prefer to see balances when deciding whether to give CLIs. Discover and Barclays are two that seem to be more generous when you run balances.

 


 


While that may be the case, it's certainly not a reason not to PIF!  (Increasing your CL so that you can charge more and pay more interest only helps the banks.)  The only reasons to carry an interest charging balance are a) if you really cannot PIF and you need the things you purchased, or b) unlikely, but if you can get a better rate of return on your money.

 

 

Message 9 of 9
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