topic Re: Statement date vs payment date in General Credit Topics

Statement date vs payment date

Anonymous — Mon, 01 Nov 2021 11:43:47 GMT

Hello everyone! New here and learning so much! Can someone please explain the difference and benefit of making a payment on the statement date vs the payment due date. Right now I have my credit cards on autopay to pay on the payment due date, which I think isn't the best option?

I've read a few posts that touch on the subject, but I kinda still don't get it. My little brain just isn't grasping it 🥴.

Please, any help is very appreciated.

Re: Statement date vs payment date

KatSoDak — Mon, 01 Nov 2021 13:12:22 GMT

The balance due on your Statement Date is what is reported to Credit Reporting Agencies. This means you can control what amount is reported by making a payment BEFORE the statement date, effectively determing utilization.

Re: Statement date vs payment date

OmarGB9 — Mon, 01 Nov 2021 13:53:22 GMT

In order to avoid being charged interest, you need to pay your full previous month's statement balance by the DUE DATE. Unless you're in a 0% APR period, then you only need to make the minimum payment by the due date to make sure you're good.

To lower your balance and control what is reported to the bureaus as mentioned above, then pay any amount you wish to lower your balance before the statement date, but whatever you do, make sure to always make at least the minimum payment by the due date. Any payments made after the due date but before the statement date wouldn't count towards avoiding interest, but they would still lower your balance before the next statement date. I hope that makes sense.

Re: Statement date vs payment date

SouthJamaica — Mon, 01 Nov 2021 14:13:28 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Hello everyone! New here and learning so much! Can someone please explain the difference and benefit of making a payment on the statement date vs the payment due date. Right now I have my credit cards on autopay to pay on the payment due date, which I think isn't the best option?
I've read a few posts that touch on the subject, but I kinda still don't get it. My little brain just isn't grasping it 🥴.
Please, any help is very appreciated.

I think it's highly risky to pay at the due date; I would pay much before that.

And if you want to maximize your FICO scores, I would pay most cards off before the statement even comes out.

Re: Statement date vs payment date

FireMedic1 — Mon, 01 Nov 2021 16:18:27 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Hello everyone! New here and learning so much! Can someone please explain the difference and benefit of making a payment on the statement date vs the payment due date. Right now I have my credit cards on autopay to pay on the payment due date, which I think isn't the best option?
I've read a few posts that touch on the subject, but I kinda still don't get it. My little brain just isn't grasping it 🥴.
Please, any help is very appreciated.

Queston: How many cards do you have @Anonymous ?

Re: Statement date vs payment date

SoCalGardener — Mon, 01 Nov 2021 16:43:27 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Hello everyone! New here and learning so much! Can someone please explain the difference and benefit of making a payment on the statement date vs the payment due date. Right now I have my credit cards on autopay to pay on the payment due date, which I think isn't the best option?
I've read a few posts that touch on the subject, but I kinda still don't get it. My little brain just isn't grasping it 🥴.

You're doing fine! It takes time to get oriented.

Others have given you some excellent input, so I'm just going to emphasize that paying *on* your due date is not a good idea. Too many things can go wrong--and if they do, you won't know about it until it's too late. I would change those dates ASAP to at least five days earlier; the more the better.

And to totally simplify your original question:

statement date = the date the CC company cuts the statement for the previous month's use

payment date = the date by which the CC company must receive at least the minimum payment due...or else!

Re: Statement date vs payment date

MsMoneypeso — Mon, 01 Nov 2021 16:55:36 GMT

And depending on the lender, do they generate the statement as of 12:01AM that day or 11:59PM that day?

Re: Statement date vs payment date

Anonymous — Mon, 01 Nov 2021 17:11:19 GMT

@FireMedic1 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Hello everyone! New here and learning so much! Can someone please explain the difference and benefit of making a payment on the statement date vs the payment due date. Right now I have my credit cards on autopay to pay on the payment due date, which I think isn't the best option?
I've read a few posts that touch on the subject, but I kinda still don't get it. My little brain just isn't grasping it 🥴.
Please, any help is very appreciated.
Queston: How many cards do you have @Anonymous ?

@FireMedic1

Hi, thanks for explaining the statement date thing. I believe you helped me with my first post I made here also. Anyhoo. As far as my credit cards. I have 8 (7 cc, 1 store) cards total. 6 of which are older accounts (6-7 years). 2 are new. I fell victim to the prequalify invitations I've been getting and I went for it and was approved. Still waiting on the snail mail to arrive.

In total, 5 cards will have zero balance. I'm working on AZEO, which I just learned about here.

Re: Statement date vs payment date

Anonymous — Mon, 01 Nov 2021 17:18:11 GMT

@SoCalGardener wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Hello everyone! New here and learning so much! Can someone please explain the difference and benefit of making a payment on the statement date vs the payment due date. Right now I have my credit cards on autopay to pay on the payment due date, which I think isn't the best option?
I've read a few posts that touch on the subject, but I kinda still don't get it. My little brain just isn't grasping it 🥴.

You're doing fine! It takes time to get oriented.

Others have given you some excellent input, so I'm just going to emphasize that paying *on* your due date is not a good idea. Too many things can go wrong--and if they do, you won't know about it until it's too late. I would change those dates ASAP to at least five days earlier; the more the better.

And to totally simplify your original question:
statement date = the date the CC company cuts the statement for the previous month's use
payment date = the date by which the CC company must receive at least the minimum payment due...or else!

@SoCalGardener

Thanks for responding. I'm literally learning so much! I plan to sit down today and change the autopay dates. You made a very good point. I wouldn't realize there was a problem until it was too late.

Re: Statement date vs payment date

Anonymous — Mon, 01 Nov 2021 17:20:29 GMT

@SouthJamaica wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Hello everyone! New here and learning so much! Can someone please explain the difference and benefit of making a payment on the statement date vs the payment due date. Right now I have my credit cards on autopay to pay on the payment due date, which I think isn't the best option?
I've read a few posts that touch on the subject, but I kinda still don't get it. My little brain just isn't grasping it 🥴.
Please, any help is very appreciated.
I think it's highly risky to pay at the due date; I would pay much before that.

And if you want to maximize your FICO scores, I would pay most cards off before the statement even comes out.

@SouthJamaica

I definitely want to maximize my scores. After reading the responses I will definitely be changing my payment dates. Thank you so much for the advice!

Re: Statement date vs payment date

FireMedic1 — Mon, 01 Nov 2021 19:42:18 GMT

As @SouthJamaica said. Pay most of them before statement date. You'll want less than 50% reporting a balance or 3 cards in your case. FICO doesnt care too much for all cards or over 50% reporting. There are fans of AZEO on here and some not so much. I've been AZEO since BK for 6 yrs. I use the cards to get back the rewards. Then pay before the statement date so they report nada except one. Then have one card report $20. Once that posts then I pay it. For me I am not a fan of auto pay. It backfired on me yrs ago and we're never right with banks when they mess up. JMO. Computers have glitches. So I like to do things on my own. Yes it is a safe guard just in case you miss a payment on time. You can create a file and place the statement dates on your computer. Check it when you go on your puter. Ah its statement date for this card.

Re: Statement date vs payment date

Phana24 — Wed, 03 Nov 2021 12:38:28 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@SouthJamaica wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
Hello everyone! New here and learning so much! Can someone please explain the difference and benefit of making a payment on the statement date vs the payment due date. Right now I have my credit cards on autopay to pay on the payment due date, which I think isn't the best option?
I've read a few posts that touch on the subject, but I kinda still don't get it. My little brain just isn't grasping it 🥴.
Please, any help is very appreciated.
I think it's highly risky to pay at the due date; I would pay much before that.

And if you want to maximize your FICO scores, I would pay most cards off before the statement even comes out.
@SouthJamaica
I definitely want to maximize my scores. After reading the responses I will definitely be changing my payment dates. Thank you so much for the advice!

Just a couple of minor tidbits to add. Cards have different lag times between due date and statement. Cards can vary on how soon they process your payment. For example, I can pay my BOA card(from their website) on the due date, and it ALWAYS shows on my statement 2 business days later. Synchrony took FOREVER(4-5 business days.....even six when I had a 4K payment) when I was a new customer, and I had to pay at least a week before. Now that I am apparently not an identity thief, 3 days is about average. Finally, be aware that if you set autopay for the due date just to be safe, some banks will process the autopay even if you've made a substantial payment. This comes into play if you think that will be your AZEO account and you plan to leave $20 on the card. It could be auto-payed down to zero. Yeah, I learned the hard way.

I suggest you track your cards when you make payments for a few months to see how the different cards handle and process your payments. That way, you know exactly what your real "due date" is for maximum FICO.

Re: Statement date vs payment date

Phana24 — Wed, 03 Nov 2021 12:54:01 GMT

@FireMedic1 wrote:
As @SouthJamaica said. Pay most of them before statement date. You'll want less than 50% reporting a balance or 3 cards in your case. FICO doesnt care too much for all cards or over 50% reporting. There are fans of AZEO on here and some not so much. I've been AZEO since BK for 6 yrs. I use the cards to get back the rewards. Then pay before the statement date so they report nada except one. Then have one card report $20. Once that posts then I pay it. For me I am not a fan of auto pay. It backfired on me yrs ago and we're never right with banks when they mess up. JMO. Computers have glitches. So I like to do things on my own. Yes it is a safe guard just in case you miss a payment on time. You can create a file and place the statement dates on your computer. Check it when you go on your puter. Ah its statement date for this card.

I agree with @FireMedic1 for most people, but I do the autopay gig for the simple reason that I travel frequently on business, and it's often on short notice. Since I got hacked on hotel Wifi(granted it was years ago and security is much better today but.....) and NEVER want to go through that hell again, I use it. All I have to do is cancel it in the event I do not want that card to show a balance. Most cards make it very easy to cancel EXCEPT Credit One. Yes, I am one of those idiots who signed up for their "rewards" card before I got on this forum.