Card is about to have a statement cut with balance

[Vegas247]

All my cards I have are in my signature. I always let the Barclay card cut with a small balance, and the rest report a $0.00 balance. Well this month is just flying by, and my Discover card cuts tomorrow Sept. 12. I called Discover to pay in full, but the customer sever rep says my payment will not post till the 13th, but she said she can send out to the credit bureaus that I have a zero balance once they see that the balance is zero after the statement cut. I am not buying a house or car or apping for anything. Should I just not worry about it? 

[Burned2manybridgesB4]

Use your cards, pay your cards, enjoy your cards.

Only worry about the "one under 10%" if you're going for more credit.

[SunriseEarth]

It'll correct soon enough.  If you're not optimizing to seek new credit, I wouldn't worry too much

[Anonymous]

Please correct me if I am wrong as I am new to this.  I was under the impression that you want a card to cut with a small balance to show the CRAs that you are actively using and managing your credit.  While "practically" good, having a string of "no balance" months reporting was detrimental to a credit score.  Due to this train of thought, I have been letting a small charge (like a trip to the ice cream shop) hit the statement cut-off.  I then promptly pay off that charge (essentially, my entire balance) the next day. Is this not good practice?

[jsucool76]

Everyone takes this util thing too seriously. 

The only time you should be worried about util is if you're constantly running all of your cards up to 95% util and carrying those balances for long periods of time. 

As a previous poster said, util is a point in time property of your reports, it changes month to month, don't worry about your score dropping a few points this month, the only time you should really be concerned about your score being at it's peak is if you plan to apply for new credit. Otherwise, use your cards in whatever way is easiest for you, just make sure all the bills get paid. 

[axledobe]

I may go a little against the grain here. If you let a statement cut and your util goes up by a lot and you have several new accounts, I think that's grounds for a lender to get squirmy in their seat. It could denote you're putting living expenses on newly sought credit. If you're well established and don't mind a few point decrease for a month, it's no big deal. Just my two cents. 

[Burned2manybridgesB4]

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@axledobe wrote:

I may go a little against the grain here. If you let a statement cut and your util goes up by a lot and you have several new accounts, I think that's grounds for a lender to get squirmy in their seat. It could denote you're putting living expenses on newly sought credit. If you're well established and don't mind a few point decrease for a month, it's no big deal. Just my two cents. 

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Just to make a point on your comment;

Exposure is also a major factor in high utilization. The bank's not going to worry so much about 60% on a 1k card, as compared to 60% on a 20k card.

Month to month basis, no sweat, but they'll watch you. Repetative monthly balances that grow, eventually it'll be an AA, if they get paranoid enough.

[B335is]

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@jsucool76 wrote:

Everyone takes this util thing too seriously. 

The only time you should be worried about util is if you're constantly running all of your cards up to 95% util and carrying those balances for long periods of time. 

As a previous poster said, util is a point in time property of your reports, it changes month to month, don't worry about your score dropping a few points this month, the only time you should really be concerned about your score being at it's peak is if you plan to apply for new credit. Otherwise, use your cards in whatever way is easiest for you, just make sure all the bills get paid. 

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Amen!!

I used to lose sleep over a card posting a balance or a Fako score dropping 3 points. Life is too short!

[jsucool76]

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@B335is wrote:

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@jsucool76 wrote:

Everyone takes this util thing too seriously. 

The only time you should be worried about util is if you're constantly running all of your cards up to 95% util and carrying those balances for long periods of time. 

As a previous poster said, util is a point in time property of your reports, it changes month to month, don't worry about your score dropping a few points this month, the only time you should really be concerned about your score being at it's peak is if you plan to apply for new credit. Otherwise, use your cards in whatever way is easiest for you, just make sure all the bills get paid. 

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Amen!!

I used to lose sleep over a card posting a balance or a Fako score dropping 3 points. Life is too short!

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Thank you! I definitely understand people doing it if they're applying for a car loan or a new CC or something, but every month, i don't understand. 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Please correct me if I am wrong as I am new to this.  I was under the impression that you want a card to cut with a small balance to show the CRAs that you are actively using and managing your credit.  While "practically" good, having a string of "no balance" months reporting was detrimental to a credit score.  Due to this train of thought, I have been letting a small charge (like a trip to the ice cream shop) hit the statement cut-off.  I then promptly pay off that charge (essentially, my entire balance) the next day. Is this not good practice?

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While firmly in the "don't worry about it" camp, this is not correct.  The optimal scores seem to be when all but one card is 0 balance, and the remaining one with a smallish balance.   Having many cards report balances will bring down the score for that month.