Just beginning with credit cards.. help please

[MoreRewards]

Set up your accounts online. You should be able to see your due date, ect. I haven't switched my Freedom to paperless billing but before I ever got my first statement I'd already made a couple payments which was before my due date.

[ezdoesit]

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@thefms wrote:

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@Themanwhocan wrote:

Please read my answer to this question, if you didn't already read it 10 days ago

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/How-do-I-play-the-1-9-Utilization-Game-Please-Help/m-p/...

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Very helpful!

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Honestly if you don't have to you shouldn't carry any balance.  Why carry 1-9% right now just to make your fico score look good.  You want to carry the 1-9% before the statement cuts then PIF by due date to avoid interest that is the best way to go.

Also as someone wrote don't get to concerned with util at this point if you don't plan on applying for more credit in the near future I don't mean max out the card. 

[thefms]

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@ezdoesit wrote:

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@thefms wrote:

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@Themanwhocan wrote:

Please read my answer to this question, if you didn't already read it 10 days ago

http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/Credit-Cards/How-do-I-play-the-1-9-Utilization-Game-Please-Help/m-p/...

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Very helpful!

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Honestly if you don't have to you shouldn't carry any balance.  Why carry 1-9% right now just to make your fico score look good.  You want to carry the 1-9% before the statement cuts then PIF by due date to avoid interest that is the best way to go.

Also as someone wrote don't get to concerned with util at this point if you don't plan on applying for more credit in the near future I don't mean max out the card. 

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That process makes it simpler.  I only want to carry what  is necessary for credit building.  The two main cards have a 0% APR to start but watching any amount sitting there and waiting to be paid is a killer for me.  Just would want to send the payment......    Although that's how I ended up with no credit score.  

[watch44]

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@Gunnar419 wrote:

Boy, for somebody just getting started, you have quickly gotten yourself into a couple of prime cards (Chase and Discover IT). Are you really sure you have no credit score? It's great, but do you have any idea how you got approved by them?

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"No credit is almost as good as good credit," said the nice lady that took my first ever credit app. There's a higher upside for the issuer in giving credit to someone with no history than bad history. And also, college kids with no or little income get "prime" cards all the time.

[parakleet]

@ezdoesit.

"Honestly if you don't have to you shouldn't carry any balance. Why carry 1-9% right now just to make your fico score look good. You want to carry the 1-9% before the statement cuts then PIF by due date to avoid interest that is the best way to go.

Also as someone wrote don't get to concerned with util at this point if you don't plan on applying for more credit in the near future I don't mean max out the card. "

I don't think doing the <10% util game necessarily means that you're "carrying" a balance. You're just letting <10% report on the statement and then PIF by due date. No carrying of balance there.

[Gunnar419]

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@thefms wrote:

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@Gunnar419 wrote:

Oh yeah. One other thing. In addition to the statement date (the date the bill is issued), you need to be aware of the payment due date -- which will be a few days before.

I think that's what you were probably getting at with your question about paying on the 5th if the statement date is the 10th, but I wasn't sure.

In short, your payment due date will usually be anywhere from 3 to 5 days before the statement date. This varies from card to card. Be sure your payment always arrives by the due date, not a single day after that, even if the statement isn't issued until days later.

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This is where I am completely lost.  I am totally missing this concept.

It's like the chicken or the egg to me.

My cards will arrive this week.  I will use them for the first time... I will get my first credit statement later in the month but I will have paid them prior to that statement being made.  Although I will have to be careful being I don't know my statement date at this time.  Isn't this correct?  I won't have a due date until the statement is sent and tells me the due date. By that time it will be paid.  Please tell me that made sense.

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Your due date is the most important thing, and the banks will tell you very clearly, righ up front, what date that is. Pay before the due date and you'll never have late fees or be charged penalty interest.

The statement is cut sometime shortly after the due date, and the amount that's on the statement gets reported to the credit bureaus.

Due date = the date you need to pay attention to to "keep yourself honest."

Statement date = the date that determines what gets reported to the bureaus and therefore what affects your FICO score.

I know it's confusing when you're getting started, but it'll make perfect sense the moment you have hands on experience with it.

[loviedovie]

Gunnar419 I had never heard this part about the payment due date being different than the statement date. This explains a lot of things for me...

Thanks to OP for posting this thread. I am learning a lot.

[Swapmeet]

I just want to say that your plan is right. Your research is going to pay off, and most people in this thread have given pretty good advice. The bottom line is that for optimum Fico score, let one card report a balance of less than 10%. Paying it off every month after it has reported will not hurt you, and letting a balance report does not mean that you are carrying a balance.

[loviedovie]

Good luck MoreRewards!