Making multiple payments on your CC's

[j615]

Add me to the list as one who makes multiple payments monthly. I usually make an ACH payment (pull from my Checking) once any card reaches $100–200 or more. I only pay towards posted transactions and not pay ahead towards pending charges.

I've yet to come across any of my card issuers not allowing this (WF, Amex, Chase). Amex did limit me to 1 payment for the first month when I first linked my payment method. After that, multiple payments were not a problem.

My CLs are more than high enough for me to only make 1 payment, but I pay multiple times because it helps me control my spending and keep my utilization always close to zero. This is of course how I personally do it, and I believe there's no wrong or right way if the card issuer is okay with it. Plus, it only takes 5 seconds to submit a payment from whichever mobile bank app.

[Anonymous]

For the most part lenders just want their money back.  that being said  if you are double thinking what lenders think of you  like with American Express or Capital One that you know raise on use,  save and make a large payment.  if you are at a different place in your credit health making multiple payments is the way to go especially on a debt snowball.  I have two jobs so I get paid weekly.  I don't give four payments a month but I give at least two to several accounts. 

[Anonymous]

Most regular people make one single payment right before the due date or on the due date.  Let's take CareCredit for example. they have millions accounts out there do you think a few extra payments for the same person is really racking up that many bank transactions?

[Anonymous]

The only issue I've had was with Discover. I made a payment of the minimum payment and went to try another payment later. And was told I couldn't make another payment so soon.

[longtimelurker]

In the end it comes down to if an issuer determines multiple payments per month correlates to increased risk.    Just like FICO, it's all correlation rather than obvious linkage (e.g. if having only one account report a balance is better than having five, it would make sense that having zero should be even better but no).   So it may be that issuers have looked at this and determined except in MS/ML-type situations it doesn't matter, or they haven't looked yet but might. 

Issuers are getting more careful, see the rumored startup of Amex's RAT team (Reward Abuse Team).....

[pipeguy]

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@Geordi wrote:

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@BluePoodle wrote:

I have read a few posts lately that state that making multiple payment on a CC (I assume before next statement cuts) is considered a bad thing to do. I have never really thought about it before. I don't do it often but I know I have done it before. What exactly is the reason that this is such a bad thing to do?  

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The card issuer can like it or not.  I treat my credit cards as if they were debit cards.

Use the card; wait until the charge posts; make the payment a day or two later.

Depending on the issuer and how close it is to the statement date, I might pay immediately after making the purchase.

It is all about having only one card report a small balance and the other cards reporting zero.

Additionally, treating your credit cards like debit cards insures that you do not buy anything that you do not have the funds to pay for.

Just my $0.02

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+!

This is exactly what I do .... pay as soon as it posts with Chase, AmEx, Barclays, BBVA, Diners MC, BoA, Amazon, Sams Club, and others - on accounts that I have run up higher balances, think holiday shopping I pay the statement balance and the balance on the next statement - in general I pay no interest on cards (any), except on a special financing option such as a Lowes project or Discover BT (4.99 or 5.99 percent). 

I have never had any issue with any lender paying charges as soon as they post, even 6 or 8 times a month (usually 2 or 3) and most of my cards are higher limits.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

If they really had a problem with it, I think they'd disable it on their end like Amex does with new accounts.

I use my BCP for groceries each week, and have been making weekly payments on it since somewhere around the second month (when the new user 1 payment freeze was lifted). A month or so ago, I was granted the 3x CLI, so they seem ok with it.

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I'm in my first month with AMEX and discovered this freeze. That's when I started pushing payments through online banking. I'm still not sure why they do the freeze, but when it comes via electronic payment, they take it.

To the OP, I pay every transaction the day it posts with Chase, BOA, CIti, Discover, Synchrony, and now AMEX. I don't know if they all like it (I don't care either), but they allow it. Citi and AMEX seem to have some funny rules about the first month though.

[Kevin86475391]

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@sarge12 wrote:

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@BluePoodle wrote:

I have read a few posts lately that state that making multiple payment on a CC (I assume before next statement cuts) is considered a bad thing to do. I have never really thought about it before. I don't do it often but I know I have done it before. What exactly is the reason that this is such a bad thing to do?  

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I make multiple payments on every single card I use every month...If it does any harm I can't tell. My scores are always in the 800 range.

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This is true of me as well. I PIF all my cards weekly, not monthly, and I also have 800+ credit scores, so it doesn't seem to have been a problem.

I like to PIF weekly because it keeps me much more on top of my finances and helps me keep spending under control. Sure enough, if I skip a week on a card/cards, the next week when I go to do it, I'll have almost always spent more than I normally would in two weeks. So for example if I normally put $200 on a card a week, if I skip a week I'll have like $500-$600 racked up instead of just $400 as expected. Out of sight, out of mind I guess. I just keep swiping and not thinking about it if I don't stop and look (and pay, thus feeling the money actually come out of my checking account) weekly. I suspect I'd spend less if I did it twice a week as well, but that would be too much of a hassle

[BronzeTrader]

The banks will certainly allow it, but we have to watch the utilization rate. See this:

 (Mod Cut-Personal info was in pic, please remove then you can repost.)

This is a new AmEx BCE card with a $500 CL. To run up to the spending, we had to make several payments to the accounts. TU saw it and dropped FICO by 36 points. 

We have no problem with it. Because we know the FICO will go up when we bring the utilization down. Certainly we'll request a CLI after 60 days. 

A lot people say multi payments won't affect the utilization rate and FICO. I think they are wrong with this experiment. 

[UncleB]

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@BronzeTrader wrote:

The banks will certainly allow it, but we have to watch the utilization rate. See this:

This is a new AmEx BCE card with a $500 CL. To run up to the spending, we had to make several payments to the accounts. TU saw it and dropped FICO by 36 points. 

We have no problem with it. Because we know the FICO will go up when we bring the utilization down. Certainly we'll request a CLI after 60 days. 

A lot people say multi payments won't affect the utilization rate and FICO. I think they are wrong with this experiment. 

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In your case your score was impacted by utilization, not because you made multiple payments in a month. 

Actually, there are many people who time their payments (multiple or otherwise) to avoid the utilization situation you describe here.

Edited to clarify:  The score reported by Amex is EX.