@LynetteM wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:"I think you have an excellent plan. As long as you pay before the next statement posts the increased utilization will never show. "
I think I understand this, but I'd like a clarification about what you mean by "next." If I borrow money on a credit card, I'm not going to pay before my next statement. I'm going to wait until I receive the statement (my very next statement) and then pay.
It's certainly OK to do it that way, if that is the way you prefer. At our house, we try to pay off our balances before the statement generates in order to maximize our FICOs.
It may be me (and probably is), but it just sounds like you mean he needs to pay before he receives the very statement he gets that says what he owes, and the implication of that is that he needs to pay before the credit card company generates a statement for him, and that can be problematic. I'm not clear why that could be problematic. We do it routinely, and we've never had a problem.
Of course, as I said, I think I understand what you mean. You mean that he needs to pay in full before the second statement later is generated. In other words, when he gets his statement, he needs to pay in full instead paying less than his full balance which may result in not only having to pay interest but may also result in there being an effect to his credit score because of what may be reported to the credit bureau. No...he meant to go online and pay before the statement is generated that would show the charge for the ring. That way, you get the rewards, but you don't take a FICO ding for higher utilization. No one has to do it that way...and many don't. It's just one of the things that can be done if you are trying to maximize your FICO scores. Some people do it only when they are a few months out from applying for a mortgage, for instance, and want their scores to be the best that they can be.
Thank you Lynette. You explained it much better than I did. 
@marty56 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:At the same time though... that ring counts as a gift for the next few years! So when her birthday comes, Christmas, Valentine's Day.... all those gift giving days, hey.... i already took care of you.
I wouldn't even pretend to say I understand women but using that logic one might go from DH to DDH.
Haha. Luckily I'm just kidding though!