Rolling Over Credit Card Debt - Strategy and ?s regarding 0% Credit Cards in Post App-orama World

[drchaos]

I believe the OP says something to the effect of “kids don’t try this at home” so I would like to ask everyone to keep the posts on topic with the focus of optimizing results since this is happening and I have very good reasons for setting the goals and priorities for this mission.

With the goal of accelerating the timetable I was able to successfully move the payment dates for Chase (Stmt date was Jan 22nd originally) and Navy Federal Credit Union (Stmt date was Jan 26th originally) up by roughly one week.

Unfortunately I was not able to do so with the TD Flex Card as any change would not take effect for a couple of billing cycles, as such I must wait until the statement date of January 25th and to have this balance show up on my credit reports before applying for the new cards.

The first question I have is with January 25th falling on a Saturday, how long do I have to wait for the new balance to show up on my credit reports?

My plan is to request my free annual credit report from each agency before applying for new cards but I would like to wait for the new statement balances to show up first.

I would think that it would be safe to apply for the new cards on Thursday, January 30th but would appreciate any input from those with any helpful information.

Current Card Balances:

TD Flex Pay $1,747.00 of $23,400 = 7.47%

NFCU $0 of $8,100 = 0.00%

Allliant Visa Platinum Rewards $747.00 of $10,000 = 7.47%

Citi Thank You Preferred = $359.16 of $4,800.00 = 7.48%

AMEX Blue Business Cash = $0.00 of $10,000.00 = 0.00%

US Bank Platinum Visa = $840.00 of $11,300.00 = 7.43%

US Bank Cash+ Visa Signature = $1,000 of $15,000 = 6.67%

Although they are both spenders I paid the Chase and BOA cards down to $0.00 as I plan to apply for cards with these companies. 

[Patient957]

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@drchaos wrote:

Unfortunately I was not able to do so with the TD Flex Card as any change would not take effect for a couple of billing cycles, as such I must wait until the statement date of January 25th and to have this balance show up on my credit reports before applying for the new cards.

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You could ask TD if they are willing to grant you an off cycle report to the CRAs after you make the payment. 

For that matter you could also ask Chase and NFCU the same thing.  I've heard Chase will sometimes do it.  As to TD and Navy, I have no idea, but it would certainty be worth asking, as this would help your timing a lot.

Anyone elae know if TD or Navy does off cycle reporting on request?

[drchaos]

Thanks for you prompt reply.

I have already made the payments but was not familiar with the idea of off cycle credit reporting.

Any info on the topic would be appreciated.

[youngandcreditwrthy]

I think what people are meaning is that what gets your reported on your statement is what your credit report reflects?

[drchaos]

I changed my payment date for NFCU but they have the same policy as TD Bank where it takes a couple billing cycles before the change takes place.

Neither TD Bank or NFCU was willing to send an off cycle billing report to the credit agencies.

NCFU reports Sun Jan 26

TD Bank reports Sat Jan 25

Alliant reports Mon Jan 13

All of the other payments I made are already on my credit report.

NFCU sent me an electronic letter with the payment and balance information as said that if the credit agecncy contacted them they could shate the off cycle information.

To save ten days of time sounds nice but I am very uncomfortable about the risk of screwing things up by contacting any credit reporting agency for any reason.

So if I hold tight and all of cards statements have balances at 8% or below by Jan 26th how long do I need to wait to be sure that none of the credit reporting agencies still thinks my balance at TD Bank or NFCU is higher?

[omgitsMatt]

How'd it go, any updates?

[drchaos]

Thanks for your asking.

I changed the payment date on the Navy Federal Credit Union card in hopes of getting my statement sooner.

It would seem that my next statement (since the December 26, 2024 statement) will not come until February 16th.

When I called them on Monday to ask why I hadn't received a January statement I was told that they did report to the credit reporting agencies on January 17th.

I am skeptical because the TD Bank Flex pay statment on Saurday Jan 25th is showing up on some of the free credit scores I am getting while the NFCU payment is not.

I find this very frustrating as I paid the balance down to zero in December yet every free credit score I am getting shows 90% utilization ($7,315 of $8,100).

I want to be 100% sure that the last three cards (NFCU, TD Bank, and Alliant) are showing the correct balances with all three credit reporting agencies before I apply for new cards.

I plan to get my free annual report from all three agencies to confirm this but am waiting until I am fairly certain that everything is under control before I do so.

Any input would be appreciated.

[omgitsMatt]

When I was studying and experimenting a few years ago with how AU accounts with zero balance impact some scores negatively, even if you carry a small balance on _your_ account, I got obsessed. I was experimenting each month, adjusting my balances to tweak a slightly different look each new month to prove I was right with backed data.

The only help I can give is at the very least answer and verify that if you _see_ your account updated _anywhere_ on the many free credit profile apps or on any free scores provided to you from any of your lenders, that's what anyone you're apping with will see provided they're pulling from the same bureau you got your profile update indication from.

However, I saw many times two bureaus can update reported accounts from your lenders while a third lags behind by 5 to 7 days sometimes, its f' excruciating when you're juggling this stuff and obsessively experimenting, or worse, threading the needle like you are.

I can't help anymore than that, sorry. But could you please share with us how this goes for you success or not? I'm very interested. Also rooting you nail it, good luck

[omgitsMatt]

There's a rhtym and pulse to how these lenders report, its never random. But its also weird and very different from one lender to the next and the lagging bureau isn't always the same one.

If you try this again in the distant future and want to time stuff like this again, spend a few months tracking statement closing dates and when stuff actually updates. Note weekends and lags etc. You'll see that it mostly repeats its pattern.

To late now, we just pray now. But next time tho

[drchaos]

Got me free annual report from Transunion to take a look at where I am.

All of the new balances show up except for Navy Federal Credit Union.

It would seem that no January statement might just mean no January reporting to any of the credit agencies.

So now all of my cards are reported at 8% or less with the exception of one card reported at 90% useage $7,315 of $8,100.

I will call NFCU today to follow up.