0 minimum due but i have a usage for this month

[Anonymous]

Hi,

So Im having a dilemma with "when and when not" to pay on my credit card since im new with them. I just got 2 credit cards a few months ago to rebuild my credit in order to get my first home but i noticed that ***every other month*** i have a minimum payment due and not a ***monthly payment***; Am i paying it too early? (because i would rather just get it out of the way to pay it off) is this hurting my score more than its helping?

Also, I have usage on the cards so im not paying over the limit on the card i think im just using it after the date the bill statement has ended.

Can someone help me find the answer to thi because ive searched everywhere!!!

Thank you :-)

[Anonymous]

The folks here can walk you through how all this works.  But to help you best, can you tell us when your last statement date was for each card?

For example, suppose you have a Discover card and a Chase card.  Then you might tell us that the Discover last had a statement on May 26 and the Chase had one on June 4.

[RobertEG]

Are you saying that the terms of the accounts is that billing statements are only sent every other month, of that a minimum payment is only due every other month?

What are the specific terms as set forth in the account agreement?

[Anonymous]

I'm not understanding what you're actually saying, try to clarify a bit better.

Here are some things to do:

• For maximum FICO scoring, you want 5 credit cards open.  The first 3 give you an immediate FICO boost, the other 2 give you a boost after 6-9 months so if you aren't applying for a mortgage for a year, go and get a total of 5 credit cards.
• Find out when your credit cards report a balance to the credit reports.  Then, make sure that 4 of your 5 cards report ZERO DOLLARS.  The fifth card MUST report at least $3 and no more than 8.9% of the limit.  Make sure it posts to your reports then pay off that balance completely to avoid interest, and then make sure to report another $3-8.9% next month and repeat.  You don't want ALL 5 cards reporting $0, it will hurt your score.

This will maximize your credit card portion of FICO scoring.