Current Balance vs. Statement Balance?

[JenW83]

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@Bladematthewslp wrote:

I just encountered a similar issue. I paid the balance down to zero and wanted the credit bureaus to know that my balance is zero immediately so that my credit utilization ratio can be updated now, not 30 days from now during the routine reporting to the credit bureaus. So after the current balance went to zero, I contacted the credit card company (Synchrony Bank in this case) and told them to report my zero balance now. They went ahead and made the request and said the bureaus should have the updated zero dollar balance within 24-48 hours. 

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Oh, I didn't know you could do that! Do you think Amex would be willing to update a zero balance as well? Or has anyone had any success with getting them to update a zero balance to help utilization numbers?

[Bladematthewslp]

It's worth a shot. I didn't know Synchrony did it until I asked how to force update the credit reporting agencies after making a payment. Maybe AMEX will do ti for you as well. I can let you know how it goes in a day or two if I see that my credit reports reflect a zero balance on my Synchrony account like they said it should. 

[Bladematthewslp]

Update: I can confirm that Synchrony Bank did force update the credit bureaus upon request, reporting a zero dollar balance within 48 hours. On the same day that the balance was reported to be zero dollars, I applied for a new credit card and was approved.