What does Discover report to Credit Bureaus?

[Klutzington]

Hi, I just recently got accepted for a Discover It credit card, with a limit of $500. This is my first credit card, and I had some questions regarding the way Discover reports to credit bureaus.

• Does Discover report to the 3 major bureaus (Equifax, Experian, Transunion)?
  
  
• Does Discover report to the bureaus on my statement date (my statement date is the 4th, while my due date is the 1st)?
  
  
• I want to keep my % utilization below 10%, as I am building credit. Say I use $200 out of my $500 limit in the month of December, from December 5th 2013 to January 3rd 2014. That mean's I have a 40% utilization. However, let's say I still use $200 out of the $500, but on January 2nd, I pay the amount I owe down to $45, which is 9% utilization. Would Discover report that I used 9% or 40%? Also, would the credit analysts at the bureaus see that I paid it down, (which means that paying it down is pointless) as in, would they only see 9% utilization, or would they see my original 40% utilization, and then see that I only owe 9% left by the statement date?

Thank you very much to all who answer!

[nois]

Congrats on the approval!

Yes Discover reports to all three bureaus.
For me, they report on my statement closing date - whatever the balance is that evening is what reports. So if you pay down to what you want to report by the closing date, maybe the day before to be safe, this is what will report.

[Klutzington]

EDIT: Nevermind, got it! Thanks for the reply!

[nois]

Statement closing date is listed on your statement - it's the date your statement generates. It's sounds like yours is the 4th. So whatever your balance is at the end of the day on the 4th should be what is reported to the bureaus. That is if Discover reports the same way for you as they do on mine. Also, outside analysts reviewing your report only see the CL, the high balance, and the current balance, and payment history.

[Jbb2788]

Whatever is on your statement is what is reported. Example; Your statement cuts on the 4th and you have a balance of $25. That is what is reported. 

[myjourney]

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@Klutzington wrote:

Hi, I just recently got accepted for a Discover It credit card, with a limit of $500. This is my first credit card, and I had some questions regarding the way Discover reports to credit bureaus.

• Does Discover report to the 3 major bureaus (Equifax, Experian, Transunion)?  Yes 
  
  
• Does Discover report to the bureaus on my statement date (my statement date is the 4th, while my due date is the 1st)? Usually within 5 days YMMV especially new accounts with Discover could take 45 days 
  
  
• I want to keep my % utilization below 10%, as I am building credit. Say I use $200 out of my $500 limit in the month of December, from December 5th 2013 to January 3rd 2014. That mean's I have a 40% utilization. However, let's say I still use $200 out of the $500, but on January 2nd, I pay the amount I owe down to $45, which is 9% utilization. Would Discover report that I used 9% or 40%? Also, would the credit analysts at the bureaus see that I paid it down, (which means that paying it down is pointless) as in, would they only see 9% utilization, or would they see my original 40% utilization, and then see that I only owe 9% left by the statement date? Doesn't matter how much you use it as long as before statement cuts it's paid down to 1-9%

Thank you very much to all who answer!

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[tinuviel]

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@Klutzington wrote:

What is the statement closing date? In my example, my statement date is given to me on the 4th of every month. Are you saying that Discover reports to the bureaus on the evening of the 4th? Or does this also relate to your due date?

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The statement closing date is the date shown on your statement. On my Discover statement, it shows the following in the upper left hand corner:

Discover More Card

Account number ending in xxxx

Open Date: Sep 7, 2013 - Close Date: Oct 6, 2013

So, the closing date on this statement is October 6, 2013. The balance shown on this statement is the one that will be reported to the CRAs. Discover will usually report to them within a few days.

[Klutzington]

Okay sounds good. I understand the CL, the current balance and payment history, but what is the high balance? Is that the highest amount I've owed in this statement period?

[myjourney]

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@Klutzington wrote:

Okay sounds good. I understand the CL, the current balance and payment history, but what is the high balance? Is that the highest amount I've owed in this statement period?

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The highest $ amount you let report ..........Key words Let report 

[Klutzington]

Is the highest amount that is ever reported a big deal in calculating your credit score, or is it just like a side note? My largest to date statement was $375 out of my $500 limit (75% utilization). This happened due to some unforseen circumstances, but every time now, I am going to have my utilization in the below 10% range. Will this one occurence affect me much, if at all?