topic Re: How to use cards. in Credit Cards

How to use cards.

Anonymous — Sun, 02 Sep 2012 22:57:29 GMT

So with 8 new inq and a 663 score which is probably lower now with the in q I have been approved for a children's place store card, capital one cash rewards and believe it or not my first American express. I wanted the zync but was denied but I did get the starwood guest card. The only other card I have is a jcpenny card which has 80/1500. The card will be PIF the end of the month. The limits are not all that great as i have student loans and a few lates from 2 years ago. They range from 800 to 1500. Anyway i want to buy a house in about 2 years once my student debt gets down a little so I want to show that I can manage my credit correctly. So is it my understanding that when I use a card and pay all but like 10 % before the statement date then PIF before the due date? Am I understanding that correctly? How can I tell the difference between statement and due date? Thanks in advance for your help

Re: How to use cards.

LS2982 — Sun, 02 Sep 2012 23:02:15 GMT

You need to call in to find out your statement closing dates on your cards. You want all of your cards except 1 to report 0 and 1 card to have a 1-9% balance on it for optimal fico points. That can be YMMV for certain individuals but that's usually the golden rule for everyone.

Re: How to use cards.

webhopper — Sun, 02 Sep 2012 23:04:53 GMT

Congrats on your new accounts The answer is yes. Pay all of the balance except 9% before the statement cuts. For my zync card this is the 8th. Then you can PIF by the due date. Other things you can do to help with the house is to develop a good history of saving money: retirement accounts count.

Re: How to use cards.

ACsteel — Sun, 02 Sep 2012 23:11:12 GMT

I suggest you always PIF, I take 9% to be the threshold if needed, but I always PIF and have always recieved a credit score increase when I do so. It is better to be safe than sorry, and being totally responsible is always a safer bet.

Re: How to use cards.

Jlu — Mon, 03 Sep 2012 00:37:58 GMT

Seems like you got your answers above. My question is how did you get an SPG and not a Zync? Did you app for the SPG first?

Re: How to use cards.

XxRaVeNxX — Mon, 03 Sep 2012 00:59:21 GMT

So...quick question...On my capital one card, is my due date the same as my statement closing date?

Re: How to use cards.

jsucool76 — Mon, 03 Sep 2012 01:03:16 GMT

Your due date will be sometime between 21-25 days after your statement closing date. It depends (it will say on your papers somewhere "Grace period - X amount of days") and your due date is that many days after your statement closing.

Re: How to use cards.

kobe2012 — Mon, 03 Sep 2012 01:05:04 GMT

Isn't it easier to get the zync than a revolver??? What was your EX score if you don't mind sharing

Re: How to use cards.

gettnthere — Mon, 03 Sep 2012 01:27:02 GMT

@Jlu wrote:
Seems like you got your answers above. My question is how did you get an SPG and not a Zync? Did you app for the SPG first?

+1, that stuck out to me right away. how in the world did that happen?

Re: How to use cards.

webhopper — Mon, 03 Sep 2012 01:29:13 GMT

@gettnthere wrote:
@Jlu wrote:
Seems like you got your answers above. My question is how did you get an SPG and not a Zync? Did you app for the SPG first?
+1, that stuck out to me right away. how in the world did that happen?

I agree... how did that happen!

Re: How to use cards.

Jlu — Mon, 03 Sep 2012 01:51:58 GMT

Was surprised nobody asked before I did.

OP please clarify.

Re: How to use cards.

Anonymous — Mon, 03 Sep 2012 02:03:44 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
So with 8 new inq and a 663 score which is probably lower now with the in q I have been approved for a children's place store card, capital one cash rewards and believe it or not my first American express. I wanted the zync but was denied but I did get the starwood guest card. The only other card I have is a jcpenny card which has 80/1500. The card will be PIF the end of the month. The limits are not all that great as i have student loans and a few lates from 2 years ago. They range from 800 to 1500. Anyway i want to buy a house in about 2 years once my student debt gets down a little so I want to show that I can manage my credit correctly. So is it my understanding that when I use a card and pay all but like 10 % before the statement date then PIF before the due date? Am I understanding that correctly? How can I tell the difference between statement and due date? Thanks in advance for your help

I'm surprised you were able to get a Starwood but not the Zync, many consider the Starwood to be Amex's best card. Your Amex limit can grow quickly, use the card heavily and pay-in-full every month to help. And yes, if you pay all accounts except one to a 0 balance and let one report a balance of less than 10%, you will raise your FICO a few points. However, past utilization has no impact on FICO scores, so there's no real need to do this unless you are applying for credit in the next month or so.

The statement date is the date the statement is generated, the payment due date is the date that is printed on the statement telling you to pay by. If your statement is generated every 10th of the month, your payment date will probably be sometime between the 1st through 6th of the next month. The absolute important thing is to make sure to pay the statment balance by the statement due date. If you want the account to report a 0 balance, make sure that the account has no balance when the statement is generated.

Re: How to use cards.

Anonymous — Mon, 03 Sep 2012 03:11:00 GMT

hey guys! Thanks for the input. I am as surprised as you guys are. I was told zync was easier to get and that is why i applied for it first. Last time i get denied fora BOA my EX score was 716 they told me in the letter and that was about 2 months ago (im not sure what it was when i applied for the zync) but since since then i have paid off 2 student loans and that is the only thing that has changed. Im sorry i cannot be any more help

Re: How to use cards.

Anonymous — Mon, 03 Sep 2012 20:49:07 GMT

@jsucool76 wrote:
Your due date will be sometime between 21-25 days after your statement closing date. It depends (it will say on your papers somewhere "Grace period - X amount of days") and your due date is that many days after your statement closing.

Not quite correct. Your due date is always the same date each month (by law). The statement date can vary each month, but is is usally about 25 days before it. If you want to know your statement date for the next month, it may be listed online, sometime not.

Re: How to use cards.

jsucool76 — Mon, 03 Sep 2012 21:02:30 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@jsucool76 wrote:
Your due date will be sometime between 21-25 days after your statement closing date. It depends (it will say on your papers somewhere "Grace period - X amount of days") and your due date is that many days after your statement closing.
Not quite correct. Your due date is always the same date each month (by law). The statement date can vary each month, but is is usally about 25 days before it. If you want to know your statement date for the next month, it may be listed online, sometime not.

I meant the grace period varied by lender, not every month, sorry if that was misunderstood! haha

Your statement date needs to be AT LEAST 21 days before your due date, however, some lenders go up to 25 days, it all depends