PIF every month a bad thing??

[Anonymous]

For scoring purposes it's best to follow the one card under 9% reporting rule.  I usually have my apps planned out ahead of time so most of the time when I'm not doing any apping I let my cards report their balances so the full balance and payment history shows on the reports.

[Anonymous]

You've received some very sound advice that I'll echo. It's a great thing to pay in full each month and avoid interest when possible. That said, always paying before the statement cuts can be slightly counterproductive from a credit score perspective. It makes it look like you're not utilizing your credit at all. I've actually fallen victim to this recently and lost a few points specifically because no activity was being reported. I'm trying to force myself to rememeber to let a small balance post each month. Preferably a card that reports to all 3 bureaus.

[HeavenOhio]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

You've received some very sound advice that I'll echo. It's a great thing to pay in full each month and avoid interest when possible. That said, always paying before the statement cuts can be slightly counterproductive from a credit score perspective. It makes it look like you're not utilizing your credit at all. I've actually fallen victim to this recently and lost a few points specifically because no activity was being reported. I'm trying to force myself to rememeber to let a small balance post each month. Preferably a card that reports to all 3 bureaus.

---

The report always shows your latest payment. And the detailed reports show your payments on a month by month basis. All of this shows usage. That's not enough?

[Anonymous]

Paying in full is great. However, make sure to not pay until the statement posts and of course pay before the due date. I believe that IF you pay before the statement even cuts then you won't get the rewards points on some cards.

[Anonymous]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

Paying in full is great. However, make sure to not pay until the statement posts and of course pay before the due date. I believe that IF you pay before the statement even cuts then you won't get the rewards points on some cards.

---

Not true at all.

[Anonymous]

I've been watching my scores rise in the garden by doing this:

2 days before statement: pay down to 1% util

2 days after statement: PIF

Seems to work pretty well. Discover seems to like it too.

[sarge12]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

This might sound like a stupid question, but I have a few cards and I always PIF every month. Is this bad? Should I ever let a balance post on them for fico purposes?  I only have 1 penfed promise card that I occasionally have a balance carry on, otherwise my disco, citi, b of a, everything is always paid before statement cuts and never shows a balance on CRAs. Just wanna make sure this wasn't a bad thing. Thanks guys!! 

---

Best to pay every card in full before the statement cuts except 1, and pay that 1 in full a couple of days before the due date. The optimal is 1 card reporting <9% of total credit limits. No card should be reporting over 29% of that cards limit. Credit utilization is a point in time metric and matters most prior to applying for new credit.

[sarge12]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

---

@Anonymous wrote:

Paying in full is great. However, make sure to not pay until the statement posts and of course pay before the due date. I believe that IF you pay before the statement even cuts then you won't get the rewards points on some cards.

---

Not true at all.

---

+100...if it post's you get the reward on every card I've seen.

[Anonymous]

I have one card that I aIways pay to z. I didn't realize til last month it was not reporting. I let if and another one report small balances and got 15 points in the process.