New Credit Card!! When can I use it??

[Lovelygal31]

Hello! I got pre-approved for a Victoria's Secret, Spiegel, and NewsportNews Credit Card. Then when I applied, I got approved for all the cards, all with soft inquires on Experian ONLY. My question is, when are the companies going to send their first report to the credit bureaus? I want to use the credit cards now but I don't want the companies to send a balance to the credit bureaus since I usually pay in full with all my credit cards before the closing date. 

HELP please? Will the companies send the report to the credit bureaus before they send me the card or after my first bill?

[vish1]

Most card companies use a fixed date (give or take 1-2 days) to report to CBs. It may or may not be around your statement date. You will need to keep an eye on your statement to know when each card reports.

If you don't want balance to show up on your reports, you should check your card accounts regularly and pay as soon as you see your transactions posted.

[JaseT]

---

@Lovelygal31 wrote:

Hello! I got pre-approved for a Victoria's Secret, Spiegel, and NewsportNews Credit Card. Then when I applied, I got approved for all the cards, all with soft inquires on Experian ONLY. My question is, when are the companies going to send their first report to the credit bureaus? I want to use the credit cards now but I don't want the companies to send a balance to the credit bureaus since I usually pay in full with all my credit cards before the closing date. 

HELP please? Will the companies send the report to the credit bureaus before they send me the card or after my first bill?

---

Just be careful about obtaining too many toy limit cards. They can lead to trouble down the road when it comes to obtaining cards with higher limits. Also, even though you didn't get hit with HARD INQ for those three new accounts, they will definitely hurt your AAoA.

[laz98]

also be aware that many store cards, especially WFNNB cards, will not generate a statement at all unless there is activity on your card.

[Anonymous]

I understand that most banks report at the statement date or period ending date.  I've heard that HSBC and US Bank report at other times.  Therefore, when you get the statement, it's too late to pay in order to avoid it going to the CB.  You'd want to pay a few days prior to your statement date, and if you want to be really careful don't charge anything else until after your statement date, except a small amount on one major credit card.  They could fault you for not using any credit and like a previous poster said, sometimes store cards don't report to the bureaus.

[JaseT]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

I understand that most banks report at the statement date or period ending date.  I've heard that HSBC and US Bank report at other times.  Therefore, when you get the statement, it's too late to pay in order to avoid it going to the CB.  You'd want to pay a few days prior to your statement date, and if you want to be really careful don't charge anything else until after your statement date, except a small amount on one major credit card.  They could fault you for not using any credit and like a previous poster said, sometimes store cards don't report to the bureaus.

---

In my case, I have to pay many days before the statement date with HSBC:

Statement date: 17th-19th of the month

Report date: 28th-31st of the month

Due date: 12th of the next month

I'm closing my HSBC card as it will never grow with me. I qualify for much better cards now and in retrospect, I wish I had never opened my HSBC acct.