Paying CC balance down before statement closes

[paturner]

Hello......Still new to the board and looking for help in rebuilding my credit. I've just learned that I can improve my score by improving my utilization percentage by paying down my balances on cc's before statement closing dates so that they report the low balances to the credit bureau, but I'm a little confused about . I have several cards. I have 2 Capitol One's, 1 Barclay (Juniper), 1 Best Buy (HSBC),  and Lowe's and I have no idea when they report. So If 1  payment is due on like the 6th of the month, does that mean I should pay down to about a $10 balance on a card with a $500 credit limit like 3 days before the due date. Does it really matter the amount you pay as long as you don't pay it down to $0? or do you pay according to the about you owe vs. the total credit limit you owe. One of my Capitol One cards now has a credit limit of $2250.00 and I owe $540 on it. So what should I pay? Thanks for any help.  P.S.. On the one with the $500 balance I owe $340.

TU;644EQ ;601; EX; 644

[Anonymous]

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@paturner wrote:

Hello......Still new to the board and looking for help in rebuilding my credit. I've just learned that I can improve my score by improving my utilization percentage by paying down my balances on cc's before statement closing dates so that they report the low balances to the credit bureau, but I'm a little confused about . I have several cards. I have 2 Capitol One's, 1 Barclay (Juniper), 1 Best Buy (HSBC),  and Lowe's and I have no idea when they report. So If 1  payment is due on like the 6th of the month, does that mean I should pay down to about a $10 balance on a card with a $500 credit limit like 3 days before the due date. Does it really matter the amount you pay as long as you don't pay it down to $0? or do you pay according to the about you owe vs. the total credit limit you owe. One of my Capitol One cards now has a credit limit of $2250.00 and I owe $540 on it. So what should I pay? Thanks for any help.  P.S.. On the one with the $500 balance I owe $340.

TU;644EQ ;601; EX; 644

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Making payments is not by the due date. You need to make the payments before the statement date cuts. For best scoring according to others experiences it is best to have all but 1 CC report a balance of <9%. After the statement cuts then pay off the balance as to avoid interest charges. 

Example:

Cap One CL 2250 Balance 540  - - - Pay this down to show 200 or less for the next statement.

Cap One CL 500 Balance 340 - - - Pay this down to show 0 for next statement

Barclay CL ? Balance ? - - - Pay this down to show 0 for next statement

Best Buy CL ? Balance ? - - - Pay this down to show 0 for next statement

Lowes CL ? Balance ? - - - Pay this down to show 0 for next statement

If you do not have the money to PIF right away pay it down as much as you can until you get to 0 balance. Just make sure you pay your minimum due on all accounts in the process. 

The reason why you pay before statement cuts is because that is when the CC reports to the CRA's with the exception of a few that report the end of the month.

[paturner]

Thanks so much for explaining that.........I was a bit confused.............so all report at statement closing?

[Anonymous]

Not all but the majority. 

if you do a search in the forums you should be able to find some of the few who report the end of month, or others may chime in with the ones they have experience with.

[Anonymous]

Hi!

There are a few ways I know of to determining when your cards report the balance.

The first way is to call and ask, but you'll probably have trouble finding an agent that has even the slightest clue about credit reports let alone when the company reports new information.

The second way is to enroll in a credit monitoring service (http://ficoforums.myfico.com/t5/General-Credit-Topics/Credit-Monitoring-Service-CMS-Guide/td-p/66254... The service will alert you to changes in your reports. From that you'll know when you cards report.

The third way is to pay attention to your bills and in particular when your statement closes. This date is before your due date. If your statement cuts with a zero balance chances are your credit reports will show zero as well, but this is not a full proof method. Different companies handle reporting differently.

Personally, I have a CMS and just pay attention to the dates of the alerts. Then I make sure I pay in full before that date.

If there are other options, I'm sure others will say so.

HTH

[paturner]

How much for CMS?

[awal]

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@paturner wrote:

How much for CMS?

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Check the link in dizzier's post. Everything you need to know about CMS is there.