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When to Pay?

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smsoller22
Established Member

When to Pay?

So I know that there is obviously a payment due date and I've always paid before the date on my cards. With that said however I remember reading through some threads where it was suggested to pay X days prior to the due date for some reason. I want to make sure I follow the reasoning and know if there is a better time to pay so I was hoping to get some insight from the more experienced users.

 

Any input is appreciated.


Starting Score: Her - 558 Him - 621
Current Score: Her - 647 Him - 627
Goal Score: Her - 675 Him - 650


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J Crew Store CC $350 / Capital One Platinum MC $300
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3 REPLIES 3
Creditaddict
Legendary Contributor

Re: When to Pay?


@smsoller22 wrote:

So I know that there is obviously a payment due date and I've always paid before the date on my cards. With that said however I remember reading through some threads where it was suggested to pay X days prior to the due date for some reason. I want to make sure I follow the reasoning and know if there is a better time to pay so I was hoping to get some insight from the more experienced users.

 

Any input is appreciated.


Say you have 2 cards with $500 limit on each and you tend to spend $490 a month and pay by due date as you do.  Lets keep it easy and say both cards also report to credit at the same time each month.... so if you were to say apply for new credit on the 10th lets say and your credit card bill is around the 10th... when someone pulled your credit they would see your 2 credit cards MAXED $490/$500.... now a computer does not know that you have already put in for a payment for the full amount because credit pulls take a shot of your credit that instant.... so the computer assumes maxed out and depending on your score... that could be enough to bring you further down from qualifying for more credit because it looks like you can't afford the credit you have.

The idea of paying some or all of your balance BEFORE your statement closes vs. due date is to change what is on your credit report. You may need to spend more than that $500 per month and it's silly to not use the card just because you don't want more than a $50 balance to report... so if your statement is the 1st and bill is due the 10th (woulnd't be but easy numbers) you would want to pay $490 on one of those cards and say $450 on the other car using my numbers from beginnning... that would leave one card with $0 out of $500 use of credit and one iwth $40 out of $500 use of credit... give you the BEST use of credit when it comes to scoring so if you applied for new credit you would be at your best possible score at that time.

Message 2 of 4
smsoller22
Established Member

Re: When to Pay?

Ok so I think I understand that.

 

In my situation though, I was told to use no more than 10% of the CL. So all of my cards have less than $20 being charged monthly regardless of the CL. ($1,300/$300/$350/$200) I have been paying them anywhere from 2-3 weeks before the due date as I always am afraid I will forget to make the payment by the due date if I wait to long.

 

Should I be doing something different to get the score up faster?


Starting Score: Her - 558 Him - 621
Current Score: Her - 647 Him - 627
Goal Score: Her - 675 Him - 650


Take the myFICO Fitness Challenge

J Crew Store CC $350 / Capital One Platinum MC $300
Message 3 of 4
ryanbush
Valued Contributor

Re: When to Pay?

Don't make this too complicated, if you don't plan on applying for anything in the next 30-45 days the pay on the due date.  Let your money work for you and earn interest in your account.

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