@Anonymous wrote:I have question, I have currently used over 10% of my credit limit, I was told by capital one that since my account is new, my first statement will be generated on 5/11/2011. And that I can pay once my statement is generated; this won't affect my credit score, as the initial reporting to credit bureaus takes place 60 days from the date of approval. And after the initial reporting (first 60 days); reporting is 1 day after each billing cycle. Is this correct? can anyone please help me
Well, I don't know about the built-in delay for the first statement. It might very well happen, because I've read lots of gripes about Cap One being slow to report initially.
Otherwise, as they said, they update the night that your statement updates, and it will show up on Experian that night, and on Equifax and TransUnion anywhere from 3-7 (or more) days later.
I really don't think that you need to sweat having a balance report first time out. Any score damage that you see will more likely be due to the presence of the new account, the inq, and a lower AAoA, if it dropped by a full calendar year or more.
Once you're established with your account, you can pay off early and have it report $0. Or if you're just completely determined to have the first statement show $0, you can pay from your online banking account and "push" the payment into Cap One. You'll need to do this 5 days or so beforehand to let everything percolate through. But if it does post, having one card reporting >10% is just not that big of a deal.
The main thing is to start mentally treating your CC as if it were a debit card. Never charge anything that you can't pay in full with the next paycheck. The name of the game with credit cards is to use them for their rewards and/or the consumer protections and/or the convenience of paying your bills once a month. But you absolutely don't want to get into the mindset of using a CC to buy something that you can't pay cash for instead. That means that you'll be carrying balances, and paying interest, which means that you're in the power of the lender. 
