Most card issuers report your statement balance (which is generally 3 to 7 days after bill due date) and a few report on a certain day of the month regardless of statement date.
You can pay the full amount of your bill, even your balance on day you pay bill, but if you make charges before they report you may be subject to a balance reporting.
You need to determine when your cards report and make sure they report as low as possible.
In full when it's due and don't use until the statement cuts you want your UTL as low as possible use the Azero all 0 except a small balance on one for FICO optimization
@midwestsunshine wrote:2 account closures with amex. Last one in the aftermath of 08' and only after making my payment (charge card) Tbh, I am not a fan of amex & they don't like me so much either. But the gold delta is worth a free checked bag & we use Hilton mostly for business. If i could get this card to even 5k, I would feel less miserable.
Amex will do sp credit limit increases or 3X at 90 days there are other options if they won't budge I'm obviously not a fan I never get approved for there products I prefer other options
This is my experience.....
I have all my card statement dates set between 1st - 5th of the month. I like them all to cut about the same time.
Regardless how much I put on each of my cards every month, I always pay them down by the 20th-21st of the month. Most issuers report balances between 24th - 31st. (This may not alway be the case, but I dug into this early in my credit youth and I found that most do.) This is why I want to pay down by the 21st to be safe. Most of them I will pay down to zero, only allowing 2 to carry any balance to statement. Then I usually pay those 2 balances (PIF) by the 8th-10th. I'm not always strict about it though, sometimes maybe 3 or 4 cards carry very small minimal balance to statement, no big deal. If I am planning to apply for new cards though (or building up for a mortgage loan) I will definitely drop to AZE1 (all zero except one). If you have multiple cards as I do, then each month I let 2 different cards carry to balance, rotating, so they all can show balance activity at least every 2 months. I just like to make sure all of them see regular activity.
In regards to CLI, if that is your goal for the AMEX, then I would definitely let that one report balance at statement (10% or less only) every month. Doesn't mater how much you spend on it each month, you can max it out if you want, as long as you pay it down to 10% before reporting. It's best to show them activity so it shows a need for higher limits.
On Deck: No Plans Currently
@midwestsunshine wrote:2 account closures with amex. Last one in the aftermath of 08' and only after making my payment (charge card) Tbh, I am not a fan of amex & they don't like me so much either. But the gold delta is worth a free checked bag & we use Hilton mostly for business. If i could get this card to even 5k, I would feel less miserable.
I wouldn't take it personally. It's not that Amex doesn't like you, there's something in your profile they don't like. On your 2 account closures, did Amex close them or did you? What are the rest of your DP? Any lates or major derogs? Theres a reason they gave you a "toy" SL.
@midwestsunshine wrote:I am confused about when I should actually pay my bill. I have read threads here & elsewhere re: pre-paying before statement cuts, multiple times within the billing period, before the issuers reporting date etc..etc.. I have 2 questions. Thanks for your replies.
#1 To maximize the probability of a cli with amex for a revolving credit card with a toy limit. When do I pay & do I pay in full?
#2 If I just pay my other credit cards in full by the due date am I doing anything wrong. I assume if I pay in full by the due date my credit file at bureaus will update each month with zero balance. Do I have this correct? Sorry for such simple questions. I couldn't find a clear answer with search.
The only reason you're "confused" is that your general question has no simple answer because (a) people have different objectives and (b) people have different opinions.
In response to your specific questions:
#1 To maximize the probability of a cli with amex for a revolving credit card with a toy limit. When do I pay & do I pay in full?
Use the card as much as possible and pay it off over and over again, within the same billing cycle. Just make sure the statement balance is 28% of the limit or less, so you don't kill your scores.
#2 If I just pay my other credit cards in full by the due date am I doing anything wrong. I assume if I pay in full by the due date my credit file at bureaus will update each month with zero balance. Do I have this correct? Sorry for such simple questions. I couldn't find a clear answer with search.
Yes you are doing something wrong if you think your reported balance will be zero. In most cases the statement balance is the reported balance, so if you get a statement balance which is $200 on a $400 card, and then pay it off before the due date, your utilization is 50% not zero.
There are some exceptions to the general rule that the statement balance is the reported balance. But we would need to know the specific lenders to know if they are exceptions to the general rule.
