chase freedom bonus redemption question

[Anonymous]

i got the $300 bonus for signing up for chase freedom

my statement balance that just posted was about $500, and my outstanding balance was about 700.  now that ive applied 300 or so dollars toward my balance, my outstanding balance is less than my statement balance.  what's it look like on my credit report if i only pay my outstanding balance now?  should i pay the whole statement balance and have chase owe me money?

i should have just dropped the bonus into my checking account so this wouldnt be confusing, oh well

[Anonymous]

actually i guess the question ties into this:

when people say they "PIF" are they referring to paying the entire balance before the statement cuts?

does putting 1000 bucks on credit cards every month and paying it off in full after the statement cuts look exactly the same on a credit report as maintaining a 1000 dollar balance by only paying the minimum every month but not charging very much?

[Anonymous]

In my humble opinion: I think this would reflect the same percentage of utilization, because in both cases $1000 gets reported every month. However, the person who charges $1000 and PIF may be viewed more favorably by the card company because they have history of using the card and making substantial payments. This may make them more eligible for CLI etc. I could be wrong, but I just think card companies want to see usage and greater than minimum payments. In terms of credit score, though, both scenarios seem to be equivalent. So the person who PIF should probably just time their payments before statement cuts lol.

So long story short, just pay the outstanding balance. As long as you show $0 when your next statement cuts, that's what they will report.

[JustMe77]

 

Your statement balance is what is owed by the bill's due date. So, if your statement balance is $500, and say your due date is 1/20/12, you have to pay $500 by 1/20/12. This ususally includes credits (returned purchases) and payments but it depends on the card. If you pay the $500 by1/20/12, you do not incur interest and have paid in full (meaning you are not carrying a balance and incurring interest charges). The outstanding balance if you check online will be the total current balance of charges, including new ones since your last statement, typically. CCs report statement balances, usually.

You don't have to pay the entire balance before your statement hits to be considered paying it in full. If you let the statement balances get high, they will report high, affecting your utilization (for better or worse), but you can still PIF and not incur interest. If you do not let statement balances get high (by paying before the statement period ends), the card will report a lower balance on the statement.

Does that make sense? I'm not sure if I explained it very well. 

ETA: If you pay the whole outstanding balance, and have a statement credit, I don't know if credit cards report the credit or report a $0 balance. I think it's better if the cards to report some sort of balance to show you use the card (just not so high that you are in high utiliztion territory). Again, you can still PIF. If you are trying to show a low utilization, then you want the reported balances as low as you can.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the replies.

What i'm gathering, basically, is that the issuing banks will notice if I'm putting money through the card, which could help me get CLIs, but it wont show up on my credit report any differently than if I just kept a balance and paid the minimum on time.  The concept of utilization seems positively asinine if theres no difference between paying off your statement in full every month and maintaining a balance.  Seems like the workaround is easy enough though.  All I really have to do is make sure I pay off the balances before the statement cuts during months when I'm planning on applying for credit, maybe leaving 10-20 bucks on one of the cards, right?  It seems there's no real reason to pay off the cards before it cuts if I'm not applying for anything.