topic Re: Statement Date in Credit Cards

Statement Date

Anonymous — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 00:20:06 GMT

Is the "Statement Closing Date" the day that your balance is reported? I'm trying to figure out the very last day that I can pay off enough so that my UTL will be <9%.

The only thing I understand is PIF before the due date to avoid interest. I can't figure out what day I need to pay by to get the number I want reported.

Re: Statement Date

fused — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 00:36:17 GMT

Almost all CCC's report your statement balance to the CRAs. I cannot say for sure if CCC's always report to the CRAs on the same day as your statement.

Re: Statement Date

MarineVietVet — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 00:39:31 GMT

@ptrutkowski wrote:
Is the "Statement Closing Date" the day that your balance is reported? I'm trying to figure out the very last day that I can pay off enough so that my UTL will be <9%.

The only thing I understand is PIF before the due date to avoid interest. I can't figure out what day I need to pay by to get the number I want reported.

For most cards yes it is. But I would (and do) make sure the balance is where i want it to be at least several days before the statements posts. You don't want to cut it too close.

ETA: Out typed once again!

From a BK years ago to:
EX - 3/11 pulled by lender- 835, EQ - 2/11-816, TU - 2/11-782

"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem".

Re: Statement Date

Anonymous — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 01:33:45 GMT

Ok, I'm sure you both are being very clear but I'm a little slow when it comes to this particular topic.

Here's my AMEX dates

Closing Date: 7/22/11

Statement Period: 6/23/11 - 7/22/11

Payment Due Date: 8/17/11

So for AMEX any spending I dd between 6/23 and 7/20 wasn't reported as long as I paid it before 7/22 and any charges I made between 7/23 and 8/16 won't be due or reported on 8/17?

CITI dates - This one is especially confusing because the closing date is after the due date.

Last statement balance: 7/19/11

Statement Closing Date: 8/17/11

Statement Due Date: 8/15/11

Re: Statement Date

Anonymous — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 01:47:21 GMT

@fused wrote:
Almost all CCC's report your statement balance to the CRAs. I cannot say for sure if CCC's always report to the CRAs on the same day as your statement.

Ok, and the "statement balance" is the existing balance on the "statement closing date"?

Also, I'm planning on calling Citi, US Bank, Chase, and AmEx and asking them what date the balance gets reported it. I'm not sure what or how to ask the CSR though.. will the CSR even know or will I need to call a backdoor number and speak to an underwriter?

Part of my confusion is how "date" is defined when we talk about the date the balance is reported. Is it an actual date, like the 24th of every month, or is it something like the statement closing date (does the statement closing date fall on the same day every month), or is it X number of days before or after the due date?

Re: Statement Date

haulingthescoreup — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 02:50:55 GMT

@ptrutkowski wrote:
Ok, I'm sure you both are being very clear but I'm a little slow when it comes to this particular topic.

Here's my AMEX dates

Closing Date: 7/22/11
Statement Period: 6/23/11 - 7/22/11
Payment Due Date: 8/17/11

So for AMEX any spending I dd between 6/23 and 7/20 wasn't reported as long as I paid it before 7/22 correct and any charges I made between 7/23 and 8/16 won't be due or reported on 8/17? Correct: the 17th is your due date for whatever was reported on your statement on the 22nd. If you prepaid, then $0 was reported. Even if you had $100 report on the 22th, that's all that you would have to pay by the 17th, even if you had run up another $500 from the 23rd to the 17th. That figure would show up on 8/22, unless you go ahead and pay it early again.

CITI dates - This one is especially confusing because the closing date is after the due date. <--No, that's the closing date for the next statement. See below.

Last statement balance: 7/19/11 <--was this the date on your July statement? If so, it just means that your statement date varies by a few days every month. So one month the 19th, the next on the 17th, maybe the next on the 16th or 14th or 18th. Some CCC's do this; others always report on the same date each month. That's why you need to go back and look at your online statement for the last several months.

Statement Due Date: 8/15/11 <--I reversed the order on this and the next statement closing date. You're getting confused. 8/15 is the due date for whatever balance was reported on your 7/19 statement.

Statement Closing Date: 8/17/11 <--This is your next statement. It will include any charges that you have made since 7/19 (that didn't show up on that statement), plus any portion of the balance due that showed on the 7/19 statement that you haven't paid yet.

Statement date = posting date = drop date = closing date. These are all different from the due date, which is generally 2-3 weeks after the statement date. The due date is the date that your money (= the balance on the statement, or some portion thereof) is due.

To break it down, here's what you do:

Focus on one account at a time.

On account A, go online and look at the last 4 statements, and see what date is printed on them (not the due date, but the statement date.) If you're in luck, it's the same date every month, as with your AmEx. Otherwise, it will vary by a few days every month, so between the 16th and 20th for instance, as on your Citi card. The more statements you look at, the more sure you will be of the date range.

For account A, pay whatever amount you want to reduce your statement by, 3-4 days before you expect the next statement to pop up. If your AmEx is always due on the 17th, plan to pay it on the 14th.

For account A, go back again on the day that you expect the statement to hit, and see if any extra charges snuck on there, and pay them off if you want. Your CCC will tell you what the deadline is to have payments post that day (by 5 pm Eastern, 6 pm Mountain, etc.)

For account A, pull up your account the day after you expect the statement to post, and see what showed up. If any balance did report, be sure to pay it before the due date. It's easy to forget to do that when you pay early, because you feel like you've done your duty for that month. But what's due by the due date is what showed up on the statement, even if it's $1.37.

For account B, and account C through X-Y-Z, do the same thing, for each account. The statement dates will vary by account, so your payment timing will vary.

Many (not all) CCC's will let you change your due date. <--Note: due date. They are often baffled at a request to change the statement date, but most will work with you. Some people who like to really work their CC's try to have them all report around the 15th, for instance, so that one paycheck takes care of the rent or mortgage at the beginning of the month, and the other gets the CC's. Of course, the whole 26 paychecks over 12 months messes that up slightly, but it works in a rough way.

Re: Statement Date

Anonymous — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 03:00:37 GMT

@haulingthescoreup wrote:
@ptrutkowski wrote:
Ok, I'm sure you both are being very clear but I'm a little slow when it comes to this particular topic.

Here's my AMEX dates

Closing Date: 7/22/11
Statement Period: 6/23/11 - 7/22/11
Payment Due Date: 8/17/11

So for AMEX any spending I dd between 6/23 and 7/20 wasn't reported as long as I paid it before 7/22 correct and any charges I made between 7/23 and 8/16 won't be due or reported on 8/17? Correct: the 17th is your due date for whatever was reported on your statement on the 22nd. If you prepaid, then $0 was reported. Even if you had $100 report on the 22th, that's all that you would have to pay by the 17th, even if you had run up another $500 from the 23rd to the 17th. That figure would show up on 8/22, unless you go ahead and pay it early again.

CITI dates - This one is especially confusing because the closing date is after the due date. <--No, that's the closing date for the next statement. See below.

Last statement balance: 7/19/11 <--was this the date on your July statement? If so, it just means that your statement date varies by a few days every month. So one month the 19th, the next on the 17th, maybe the next on the 16th or 14th or 18th. Some CCC's do this; others always report on the same date each month. That's why you need to go back and look at your online statement for the last several months.

Statement Due Date: 8/15/11 <--I reversed the order on this and the next statement closing date. You're getting confused. 8/15 is the due date for whatever balance was reported on your 7/19 statement.

Statement Closing Date: 8/17/11 <--This is your next statement. It will include any charges that you have made since 7/19 (that didn't show up on that statement), plus any portion of the balance due that showed on the 7/19 statement that you haven't paid yet.

Statement date = posting date = drop date = closing date. These are all different from the due date, which is generally 2-3 weeks after the statement date. The due date is the date that your money (= the balance on the statement, or some portion thereof) is due.

To break it down, here's what you do:

Focus on one account at a time.

On account A, go online and look at the last 4 statements, and see what date is printed on them (not the due date, but the statement date.) If you're in luck, it's the same date every month, as with your AmEx. Otherwise, it will vary by a few days every month, so between the 16th and 20th for instance, as on your Citi card. The more statements you look at, the more sure you will be of the date range.

For account A, pay whatever amount you want to reduce your statement by, 3-4 days before you expect the next statement to pop up. If your AmEx is always due on the 17th, plan to pay it on the 14th.

For account A, go back again on the day that you expect the statement to hit, and see if any extra charges snuck on there, and pay them off if you want. Your CCC will tell you what the deadline is to have payments post that day (by 5 pm Eastern, 6 pm Mountain, etc.)

For account A, pull up your account the day after you expect the statement to post, and see what showed up. If any balance did report, be sure to pay it before the due date. It's easy to forget to do that when you pay early, because you feel like you've done your duty for that month. But what's due by the due date is what showed up on the statement, even if it's $1.37.

For account B, and account C through X-Y-Z, do the same thing, for each account. The statement dates will vary by account, so your payment timing will vary.

Many (not all) CCC's will let you change your due date . <--Note: due date. They are often baffled at a request to change the statement date, but most will work with you. Some people who like to really work their CC's try to have them all report around the 15th, for instance, so that one paycheck takes care of the rent or mortgage at the beginning of the month, and the other gets the CC's. Of course, the whole 26 paychecks over 12 months messes that up slightly, but it works in a rough way.
That clears up SO MUCH, thank you! I actually get paid every 2 weeks, not really on a certain day each month so I'd actually just like to get all of my cards on as similar a schedule as possible. Right now I think they're all about the same but I'll certainly double check. I've been in the habit of making a payment everytime I get paid and I thought this was a good habit, but for now it seems like a bad habit because it's contributing to my confusion about when I should pay by to keep my UTL down.

Re: Statement Date

haulingthescoreup — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 03:09:54 GMT

@ptrutkowski wrote:
That clears up SO MUCH, thank you! I actually get paid every 2 weeks, not really on a certain day each month so I'd actually just like to get all of my cards on as similar a schedule as possible. Right now I think they're all about the same but I'll certainly double check. I've been in the habit of making a payment everytime I get paid and I thought this was a good habit, but for now it seems like a bad habit because it's contributing to my confusion about when I should pay by to keep my UTL down.

Nothing wrong technically with making multiple payments every month, except that as you say, it can get confusing trying to figure out what you're actually paying on.

I also believe that there's a very real danger in forgetting to pay whatever does show up on the statement, due to the feeling (understandable) that you've already paid that month.

Long, long ago, it was very common for people to have their grocery bills, coal bills, doctor bills, stable bills (like I said, a long time ago) payable on a monthly basis. At the end of each month, or whenever, the merchants would present their bills, and the customers would settle their accounts. Credit cards are the modern version of this.

Actually, running a tab at the bar is the modern version of this, but that's a whole 'nother thing.

Re: Statement Date

Anonymous — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 03:41:58 GMT

This is another probably pointless question because I know both are good practices, but does regularly having a 1-9% balance produce higher scores than regularly having 0 reported balance?

I ask because come October, when I hopefully will no longer have a revolving balance on any of my cards, I'd like to do whichever one will help my score/report more.

Right now 2/5 of my cards have a revolving balance, and at the end of this week only 1/5, while the other 3 report 0.

I know you've told me before that 0 is not bad, but is 1-9% better? I'm going to, for sure, keep 1-9% reporting on 1 card (probably the AmEx Clear, for an obvious reason), but I haven't decided what to do with the other 4.

Re: Statement Date

MarineVietVet — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 03:43:41 GMT

@ptrutkowski wrote:
This is another probably pointless question because I know both are good practices, but does regularly having a 1-9% balance produce higher scores than regularly having 0 reported balance?

I ask because come October, when I hopefully will no longer have a revolving balance on any of my cards, I'd like to do whichever one will help my score/report more.
Right now 2/5 of my cards have a revolving balance, and at the end of this week only 1/5, while the other 3 report 0.

I know you've told me before that 0 is not bad, but is 1-9% better? I'm going to, for sure, keep 1-9% reporting on 1 card (probably the AmEx Clear, for an obvious reason), but I haven't decided what to do with the other 4.

Everyone's situation is different and there is no one size fits all approach to this but what seems to work well for most people is to have only one of their cards report a small (<9% of it's credit limit) balance each month and then pay in full before the due date. You can use it as much as you want during the month but what's important is the reported balance because for most cards whatever is reported on the monthly statement is what is used to calculate utilization for the month.

You might have to play around with the percentages for a few months to see what works best for you. Some people say that 1-3% utilization helps the most. For others it might be 5-9%. As I said it's not one size fits all.

On any other cards always try and have them report a zero balance each month. That doesn't mean you can't use them just make sure that the desired zero balance on these accounts is achieved several days before their statements post.

Re: Statement Date

Booner72 — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 04:31:13 GMT

@ Hauling - You do such a great job of taking the time to explain things so clearly and nicely. I really appreciated all of that when you helped me get started. I just wanted to give you kudos for this!

@OP - I was wigged out to the hilt trying to get all my accounts to report zero, except one to report 1-9%. I have a hugely long thread about in "understanding your score" if you care to take a gander. What ended up happening is my score got where it needed to be because I got my overall utility way down. I didn't have to fine tooth/tweek this method of 1-9%. I think I have such a "dirty" credit file that I'm about maxed out at where I will be until the bad stuff is gone, which will be a LOOONG time.

Good Luck! What is it you're trying to do again? Mortgage?

Re: Statement Date

Anonymous — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 04:58:29 GMT

@Booner72 wrote:
@ Hauling - You do such a great job of taking the time to explain things so clearly and nicely. I really appreciated all of that when you helped me get started. I just wanted to give you kudos for this!

@OP - I was wigged out to the hilt trying to get all my accounts to report zero, except one to report 1-9%. I have a hugely long thread about in "understanding your score" if you care to take a gander. What ended up happening is my score got where it needed to be because I got my overall utility way down. I didn't have to fine tooth/tweek this method of 1-9%. I think I have such a "dirty" credit file that I'm about maxed out at where I will be until the bad stuff is gone, which will be a LOOONG time.

Good Luck! What is it you're trying to do again? Mortgage?

Could you link me to that thread? I'd like to read it

And no, not applying for a mortgage or anything serious. I'm 23 and only now starting to learn the ins and outs of how credit works (not sure if I'm a late starter or not) and I'd like to learn as much as possible and also get my credit history going on the right track so when I do need to apply for car and home loans I'll be in good shape!

All I've got right now are 5 credit cards, and a few student loans in deferment.

Re: Statement Date

Anonymous — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 05:03:46 GMT

@MarineVietVet wrote:
@ptrutkowski wrote:
This is another probably pointless question because I know both are good practices, but does regularly having a 1-9% balance produce higher scores than regularly having 0 reported balance?

I ask because come October, when I hopefully will no longer have a revolving balance on any of my cards, I'd like to do whichever one will help my score/report more.
Right now 2/5 of my cards have a revolving balance, and at the end of this week only 1/5, while the other 3 report 0.

I know you've told me before that 0 is not bad, but is 1-9% better? I'm going to, for sure, keep 1-9% reporting on 1 card (probably the AmEx Clear, for an obvious reason), but I haven't decided what to do with the other 4.
Everyone's situation is different and there is no one size fits all approach to this but what seems to work well for most people is to have only one of their cards report a small (<9% of it's credit limit) balance each month and then pay in full before the due date. You can use it as much as you want during the month but what's important is the reported balance because for most cards whatever is reported on the monthly statement is what is used to calculate utilization for the month.

You might have to play around with the percentages for a few months to see what works best for you. Some people say that 1-3% utilization helps the most. For others it might be 5-9%. As I said it's not one size fits all. The only way to do this is to try different percentages each month as well as order a score, correct? (Sorry to steal this method from you hauling but it's a wonderful way to respond to individual parts of a message!)

On any other cards always try and have them report a zero balance each month. That doesn't mean you can't use them just make sure that the desired zero balance on these accounts is achieved several days before their statements post.

From a BK years ago to:
EX - 3/11 pulled by lender- 835, EQ - 2/11-816, TU - 2/11-782

"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem".

Sorry to double post, but I haven't figured out how to multi-quote yet..?

Also, to echo Booner72, thank you Hauling for making things so clear and simple. A lot of the other forum members are sharing the same information but aren't quite as in tune with how simple you have to make things for new people. Thanks to everyone, I know it must be frustrating to answer the same questions every few months/weeks/days when people like myself come around.

Re: Statement Date

Booner72 — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 05:15:13 GMT

PT (aka OP, that's your nickname by the way) -- Just go find it under "understanding" that's written by Booner72. I have no idea how to post links but it's a day by day account of what happened as I paid stuff off.

Obviously you're not too late. I wish I had taken a liking to learning about FICO when I was 23!

Re: Statement Date

haulingthescoreup — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 05:22:15 GMT

Glad to help! And MVV has it right about optimum reporting.

I've read claims that someone did better with 4% than 1% reporting or something, but I'm not convinced. Usually, there was something else going on that was responsible for the score.

Make your life simple: pick one card, ideally one whose statement posts every month on the same date, pay it off early except for $10, let that post, and then pay it off. (Don't forget that part!) Pay the others off in full (=PIF), so that they report $0. That results in optimum FICO scores.

However, there's no real point in doing this unless you're getting ready to app for something and you want to tweak your scores. The reason that most of us do this is because we're hooked on optimized scores, and it's painful to see them drop due to multiple cards reporting balances. Another point is that it takes a month or so to get everything reporting in this way, and if something comes up unexpectedly where you might want to app, you might not have optimized scores and reports. But unless it's a mortgage or auto loan, it's probably not that score sensitive, so you really don't have to do this.

My reason for paying early (besides liking the higher scores): I have massive adult ADHD, and all my negatives were late payments. By making my internal due date the statement date instead of the true due date, I add a 2-3 week cushion to prevent future lates.

Re: Statement Date

Anonymous — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 05:33:16 GMT

@haulingthescoreup wrote:
Glad to help! And MVV has it right about optimum reporting.

I've read claims that someone did better with 4% than 1% reporting or something, but I'm not convinced. Usually, there was something else going on that was responsible for the score.

Make your life simple: pick one card, ideally one whose statement posts every month on the same date, pay it off early except for $10, let that post, and then pay it off. (Don't forget that part!) Pay the others off in full (=PIF), so that they report $0. That results in optimum FICO scores.

However, there's no real point in doing this unless you're getting ready to app for something and you want to tweak your scores. The reason that most of us do this is because we're hooked on optimized scores, and it's painful to see them drop due to multiple cards reporting balances. Another point is that it takes a month or so to get everything reporting in this way, and if something comes up unexpectedly where you might want to app, you might not have optimized scores and reports. But unless it's a mortgage or auto loan, it's probably not that score sensitive, so you really don't have to do this.

My reason for paying early (besides liking the higher scores): I have massive adult ADHD, and all my negatives were late payments. By making my internal due date the statement date instead of the true due date, I add a 2-3 week cushion to prevent future lates. - This is exactly what I was going to do as well.

I'd like to keep my score as high as possible (for self satisfaction ), especially since the only thing I need to manage at the moment is credit cards. I'd like to get into good habits with them now so that in the future I do things like habitually pay a few days before the statement date instead of the true due date.

However, I don't want to buy a FICO every month for 9+ months (1-9%) to truly find my own personal optimum so I'll probably just pay whatever I can that pay period so that it falls somewhere in the 1-9% range. I feel as though I've finally got a complete understanding of how this one tiny aspect of your score works. Time to move on to something else!

Ok I lied. Hauling (or anyone) could you help me underst...

Anonymous — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 07:10:55 GMT

Ok I lied. Hauling (or anyone) could you help me understand my Citi dates.

Previous Statement Balance date was 07/19/11

Previous payment due date was 08/15/11

Last Statement Balance - 08/17/11

Payment Due Sept. 15, 2011

Next Statement Sept. 19, 2011

Current Balance: $1800/4000 and I'm in the introductory 0% APR period

Minimum Payment: $28

My understanding:

Short Version - Assuming I make no charges from now until 9/19

I have until 9/15 to pay $28 (to avoid a late fee) and, if payments went through instantly (I know they don't, but for the sake of argument and simplicity), until 11:59PM 9/18 to pay an additional $1412 (leaves a balance of $360/4000) to get a 9%UTL reported.

Also, let's assume the following:

As of 09/19/11 my balance is $0/4000
Next Due date is 10/15/11

Next Statement date is 10/17/11

Any dollar that I spend after 9/19 will not be due on 10/15 but, if unpaid, will be reported on 10/17?

Long Version - this was the initial post, but I decided to give a short version so you wouldn't get as annoyed

So, after re-reading one of your previous posts several times I am still a little confused. Here's what I know (or think I know).

The balance on my card right now (8/17) is $1800. If I don't pay $1800 by 09/15 I will pay interest and if I don't pay at least the minimum I will be late. When will Citi report my balance? Do some banks report your balance after your due date? (To me it looks like any charges that I accrue from 8/17 to 9/18 will be reported on 9/19).

OH.. I THINK I GET IT! I think I was getting confused because I've been carrying a balance and not starting from 0 every period.

All unpaid charges up to 8/17 are due on 9/15. What gets reported on 9/19 is whatever I charge and don't pay from 8/17-9/18 PLUS any balance carried over from the previous period.

As of 8/17 my balance is $1800, I am still in the introductory 0% APR period, and my minimum due 9/15 is $28. So if I make no charges between now and 9/19 and pay only the minimum, Citi will report a balance of $1772 (-$28 PLUS my old $1800 balance)?

Sorry if it's hard to follow. I literally typed out my entire thought process.

Re: Ok I lied. Hauling (or anyone) could you help me underst...

haulingthescoreup — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 07:19:12 GMT

@ptrutkowski wrote:

...So, after re-reading one of your previous posts several times I am still a little confused. Here's what I know (or think I know).

The balance on my card right now (8/17) is $1800. If I don't pay $1800 by 09/15 I will pay interest and if I don't pay at least the minimum I will be late. When will Citi report my balance? Do some banks report your balance after your due date? (To me it looks like any charges that I accrue from 8/17 to 9/18 will be reported on 9/19).

OH.. I THINK I GET IT! I think I was getting confused because I've been carrying a balance and not starting from 0 every period.

All unpaid charges up to 8/17 are due on 9/15. What gets reported on 9/19 is whatever I charge and don't pay from 8/17-9/18 PLUS any balance carried over from the previous period.

As of 8/17 my balance is $1800, I am still in the introductory 0% APR period, and my minimum due 9/15 is $28. So if I make no charges between now and 9/19 and pay only the minimum, Citi will report a balance of $1772 (-$28 PLUS my old $1800 balance)?

Sorry if it's hard to follow. I literally typed out my entire thought process.

Well, it's late, and I'm a little foggy.

Did the $1800 show on your 8/17 statement? If so, then yes, you must pay at least the minimum by 9/15. If you don't pay the full amount by 9/15, you will owe interest on the unpaid balance, and that interest due will show up on your 9/whatever statement. If it didn't show on your statement, and it only shows up online as your current balance, then it's not due on 9/15.

(btw, does it say somewhere that your next statement will drop on 9/19? Some banks due publish that figure.)

* yawns *

Re: Statement Date

MarineVietVet — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 17:23:37 GMT

@ptrutkowski wrote:
Everyone's situation is different and there is no one size fits all approach to this but what seems to work well for most people is to have only one of their cards report a small (<9% of it's credit limit) balance each month and then pay in full before the due date. You can use it as much as you want during the month but what's important is the reported balance because for most cards whatever is reported on the monthly statement is what is used to calculate utilization for the month.

You might have to play around with the percentages for a few months to see what works best for you. Some people say that 1-3% utilization helps the most. For others it might be 5-9%. As I said it's not one size fits all. The only way to do this is to try different percentages each month as well as order a score, correct? (Sorry to steal this method from you hauling but it's a wonderful way to respond to individual parts of a message!) That's correct. It does get expensive but it's the only way to be sure how the percentages from month to month affect your score.

On any other cards always try and have them report a zero balance each month. That doesn't mean you can't use them just make sure that the desired zero balance on these accounts is achieved several days before their statements post.

Re: Ok I lied. Hauling (or anyone) could you help me underst...

Anonymous — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 18:42:14 GMT

@haulingthescoreup wrote:

@ptrutkowski wrote:

...So, after re-reading one of your previous posts several times I am still a little confused. Here's what I know (or think I know).

The balance on my card right now (8/17) is $1800. If I don't pay $1800 by 09/15 I will pay interest and if I don't pay at least the minimum I will be late. When will Citi report my balance? Do some banks report your balance after your due date? (To me it looks like any charges that I accrue from 8/17 to 9/18 will be reported on 9/19).

OH.. I THINK I GET IT! I think I was getting confused because I've been carrying a balance and not starting from 0 every period.

All unpaid charges up to 8/17 are due on 9/15. What gets reported on 9/19 is whatever I charge and don't pay from 8/17-9/18 PLUS any balance carried over from the previous period.

As of 8/17 my balance is $1800, I am still in the introductory 0% APR period, and my minimum due 9/15 is $28. So if I make no charges between now and 9/19 and pay only the minimum, Citi will report a balance of $1772 (-$28 PLUS my old $1800 balance)?

Sorry if it's hard to follow. I literally typed out my entire thought process.

Well, it's late, and I'm a little foggy.

Did the $1800 show on your 8/17 statement? If so, then yes, you must pay at least the minimum by 9/15. If you don't pay the full amount by 9/15, you will owe interest on the unpaid balance, and that interest due will show up on your 9/whatever statement. If it didn't show on your statement, and it only shows up online as your current balance, then it's not due on 9/15.

(btw, does it say somewhere that your next statement will drop on 9/19? Some banks due publish that figure.)

* yawns *

Nope, it just says Next Statement Date 9/19