topic Re: statement closing date vs reporting date in Understanding FICO® Scoring

statement closing date vs reporting date

Anonymous — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 20:18:23 GMT

I know there is some game to play between the statement closing date and the reporting date to help boost credit score. How do I play?

Re: statement closing date vs reporting date

MidnightVoice — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 20:33:57 GMT

Welcome.

Most CCCs report your CC balance as off the statement date. It can days for them to report it.

Some people PIF before the statement is cut, so a balance ov $0 reports. This keeps your util% low, and this usually helps your score

Re: statement closing date vs reporting date

Scamp — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 03:03:48 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I know there is some game to play between the statement closing date and the reporting date to help boost credit score. How do I play?

Welcome to the forums, snakecharmer!

You should be able to find several posts about this over on the Credit Cards board, but the overview is that score-control-freaks like myself gear our cc paying habits to our statement dates and/or account reporting dates (usually one and the same, but different in a few cases such as AmEx, US Bank and I think 1 or 2 others) to control the reported balances on our credit reports.

Your statement dates usually can be found either via your online banking options or on your paper statements, if you receive them. Most CCCs report your account balance as of your statement date, and most do the actual reporting to the credit bureaus ON your statement date as well (again - a few exceptions; if you want to know those for certain, do a search for posts by haulingthescoreup, as she explains this whole thing best and also knows all the exceptions off the top of her head).

So the trick is to either PIF before your statement/reporting date every month or to pay down to a tiny percentage of your overall credit limit (all zero balances can actually hurt your scores), let that tiny percentage report, then PIF once your statement cuts to avoid paying any interest. FICO scores love to see what appear to be minimally-used credit cards.

Hope this helps. Welcome again!

Edited to add: Or you can just read MV's MUCH shorter explanation above my post!!! Youda man, MV - I really MUST work harder on that "concise diction" goal of mine.

Message Edited by Scamp on 12-02-2008 12:39 PM

Message Edited by Scamp on 12-12-2008 07:03 PM

Re: statement closing date vs reporting date

MidnightVoice — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 03:04:18 GMT

@Scamp wrote:

Or you can just read MV's MUCH shorter explanation above my post!!! Youda man, MV - I really MUST work harder on that "concise diction" goal of mine.

I hate typing

Message Edited by Scamp on 12-12-2008 07:04 PM

Re: statement closing date vs reporting date

Scamp — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 03:04:50 GMT

@MidnightVoice wrote:
@Scamp wrote:

Or you can just read MV's MUCH shorter explanation above my post!!! Youda man, MV - I really MUST work harder on that "concise diction" goal of mine.

I hate typing

I think I'll just go around copying and saving your posts and HTSU's and others' who do especially great, non-gabby posts, then just paste 'em in where applicable (with all credit due, of course!), instead of continuing to do my own verbose versions.

Message Edited by Scamp on 12-12-2008 07:04 PM

Re: statement closing date vs reporting date

Junejer — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 20:07:05 GMT

Scamp wrote:
@MidnightVoice wrote:
@Scamp wrote:

Or you can just read MV's MUCH shorter explanation above my post!!! Youda man, MV - I really MUST work harder on that "concise diction" goal of mine.

I hate typing

I think I'll just go around copying and saving your posts and HTSU's and others' who do especially great, non-gabby posts, then just paste 'em in where applicable (with all credit due, of course!), instead of continuing to do my own verbose versions.

Umm--oxymoron alert.

BTW OP, HSBC reports the balance on the last business day of the month to the CRAs.

Message Edited by Scamp on 12-18-2008 12:07 PM

Re: statement closing date vs reporting date

Scamp — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 03:05:20 GMT

@Scamp wrote:

I think I'll just go around copying and saving your posts and HTSU's and others' who do especially great, non-gabby posts, then just paste 'em in where applicable (with all credit due, of course!), instead of continuing to do my own verbose versions.
Umm--oxymoron alert.

Oooh - I'm gonna tell HTSUuuuu!!!

How about 'less-gabby-than-mine posts'?

Message Edited by Scamp on 12-12-2008 07:05 PM

Re: statement closing date vs reporting date

Junejer — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 03:05:53 GMT

Scamp wrote:

@Scamp wrote:

I think I'll just go around copying and saving your posts and HTSU's and others' who do especially great, non-gabby posts, then just paste 'em in where applicable (with all credit due, of course!), instead of continuing to do my own verbose versions.
Umm--oxymoron alert.

Oooh - I'm gonna tell HTSUuuuu!!!

How about 'less-gabby-than-mine posts'?

She'll see it soon enough.

Message Edited by Scamp on 12-12-2008 07:05 PM

Re: statement closing date vs reporting date

Scamp — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 02:49:05 GMT

@Junejer wrote:
@scapegrace13 wrote:

I think I'll just go around copying and saving your posts and HTSU's and others' who do especially great, non-gabby posts, then just paste 'em in where applicable (with all credit due, of course!), instead of continuing to do my own verbose versions.
Umm--oxymoron alert.

Oooh - I'm gonna tell HTSUuuuu!!!

How about 'less-gabby-than-mine posts'?
She'll see it soon enough.

I know - just bein' silly.

*hands thread back to OP* - sorry for the threadjack!

Re: statement closing date vs reporting date

Anonymous — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 23:50:03 GMT

Thanks for the info... So, if I have an HSBC card that drops the statement on the 11th (and I have deduced that they report at the end of the month), I want to pay all but, say $10 until the end of the month, then pay that little balance before the due date of the 6th. In the past I have always paid every card in full before the due date and my score is barely moving, if at all.

Re: statement closing date vs reporting date

haulingthescoreup — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 03:06:32 GMT

ByrdMan wrote:
@Scamp wrote:
ByrdMan wrote:
@Scamp wrote:

I think I'll just go around copying and saving your posts and HTSU's and others' who do especially great, non-gabby posts, then just paste 'em in where applicable (with all credit due, of course!), instead of continuing to do my own verbose versions.
Umm--oxymoron alert.
Oooh - I'm gonna tell HTSUuuuu!!!

How about 'less-gabby-than-mine posts'?
She'll see it soon enough.

Ahem.

Message Edited by Scamp on 12-12-2008 07:06 PM

Re: statement closing date vs reporting date

MidnightVoice — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 16:22:12 GMT

haulingthescoreup wrote:

Wink --it makes people wonder what you've been up to

Re: statement closing date vs reporting date

haulingthescoreup — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 19:49:06 GMT

snakecharmer wrote:
Thanks for the info... So, if I have an HSBC card that drops the statement on the 11th (and I have deduced that they report at the end of the month), I want to pay all but, say $10 until the end of the month, then pay that little balance before the due date of the 6th. In the past I have always paid every card in full before the due date and my score is barely moving, if at all.

That ought to help.

If I'm reading you correctly, you paid after the statement, but before the due date, so it made it look like you were carrying balances, even if you weren't.

It can be a PITA at first to pay early, but you get used to it. To me, it's just a mental resetting of the due date. Just let that one card report.

You may find that HSBC is an annoying little bank to do this with, as they periodically go into comas and don't update for a month or three. But if you're just allowing a low balance, and you're diligent about paying the others early, it should work.

Note to others with HSBC/ Orchard cards: they do seem to report the balance as of the last business day of the month on their bank cards, but my Best Buy (HSBC) store card updates on the statement date, reporting the balance. Fun!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

@MidnightVoice wrote:

@haulingthescoreup wrote:
Wink --it makes people wonder what you've been up to

Moi?

Re: statement closing date vs reporting date

Junejer — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 03:07:19 GMT

haulingthescoreup wrote:
ByrdMan wrote:
@Scamp wrote:
ByrdMan wrote:
@Scamp wrote:

I think I'll just go around copying and saving your posts and HTSU's and others' who do especially great, non-gabby posts, then just paste 'em in where applicable (with all credit due, of course!), instead of continuing to do my own verbose versions.
Umm--oxymoron alert.
Oooh - I'm gonna tell HTSUuuuu!!!

How about 'less-gabby-than-mine posts'?
She'll see it soon enough.
Ahem.

Message Edited by Scamp on 12-12-2008 07:07 PM

Re: statement closing date vs reporting date

RobertEG — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 07:16:09 GMT

I would only add one caution, for this just happened to me. I had a pattern of just going on the net on the first of the month, and making payments on all my cards.

I then noticed in my next billing statement that Chase Pro charged me a late for the last month, in which I had paid over twice the minimum due. I contacted them, and here is what they said. Since their statement date is not until the 4th of the month, payment on the first was NOT considered as a payment against the issued statement. Without any hassle, they quickly agreed to delete the late payment post and fee, for they understood that I did make the payment.

So the moral is that if you pay before the statement date, and it is not a PIF, then their accounting may not include it as payment against that statement.