How to Use Credit Cards But Pay Off Before They Report?

[successfulslacker]

This is something i've been tracking for the last year. I have four capital one cards, Discover, Amex and Chase. They all report a few days after my due date. So if your due date is the 5th, make sure your paid up in time that it clears by your due date. Even though your crdit card may accept same day payments, it may still report automatomatically at the end of that day and show on your report 3-5 days later with your balance. If your signed up for one of the reporting agencies and check your report each month, just check the "Last Reported On Date". There's your enswer! For me it's a few days after the due date for every card and they all have different dates. From my experiece and tracking, the cards are reporting at the end of the due day! Then it shows 3-5 days later. Just make sure your payment has cleared by your due date and you shoud always be good!

[successfulslacker]

I agree, this is the method I use as well! Make sure the payment is cleared and shows by the due date, and then don't use the card again until it's reported. I log in regulralrly to check the last reported date through Equifax. It's consistently 3-5 days after my due date for each card. But I'm pretty sure it's sending the report at the end of the due date, or the next day, but just takes a few days to show. 

[user5387]

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@successfulslacker wrote:

This is something i've been tracking for the last year. I have four capital one cards, Discover, Amex and Chase. They all report a few days after my due date. So if your due date is the 5th, make sure your paid up in time that it clears by your due date. Even though your crdit card may accept same day payments, it may still report automatomatically at the end of that day and show on your report 3-5 days later with your balance. If your signed up for one of the reporting agencies and check your report each month, just check the "Last Reported On Date". There's your enswer! For me it's a few days after the due date for every card and they all have different dates. From my experiece and tracking, the cards are reporting at the end of the due day! Then it shows 3-5 days later. Just make sure your payment has cleared by your due date and you shoud always be good!

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Welcome to the forums!

My guess is that it would be the most helpful to think in terms of the statement date, and not the due date.

The due date is typically 25 days after the statement date, which means that the next cycle's statement date is a few days after the previous cycle's due date, and to the best of my knowledge balance reporting is typically keyed to the statement date.

Suppose that a given statement cycle runs from July 1-31, and the due date is August 25.  In such a case, the balance might be reported in early August.

[Idaho_Mechanic1984]

Interest APR DUE Reports on FICO 4.5 – 6.8% 15th   15.90% 5th   7.00% 20th   7.00% 20th   11.90% 25th 5th 0.00%           23.99% 17th 28th 14.90% 17th   14.99% 9th 16th 12.99% 17th         0-24% 12th 25th 0-25% 25th 8th 0 – 24%     21.24% 22nd 30th 0 – 27.99% 13th 22nd   28th     15th 3rd   28th 7th

Above (sorry they kind of scrambled my spreadsheet layout) is exactly what I track and based similarly off what Forte747 said at the end of page 1 of this discussion - it's the closest way you will find for accuracy in finding your answer... As you can see from mine there is a variation of anywhere from 1 week to 2 weeks generally after the due date, and also as Forte said have it cleared and paid a few days before then and it should report the desired number you would like.... - Good luck! If you have been signed up for a while you should be able to start seeing the trend of when to expect it too happen unless you just started then it may take you a couple months to have enough data to figure out how your specific situation plays out. - Idaho Mechanic

[TruthBeTold]

Action Plan:

1. Pay the credit card in full or  below the 30% of the total credit limit.

2.Call your CC Company ask them , when is the statement for date for the CC. 

3. Pay your credit cardin full before the statement close date.

4. Then do not use the credit card till after the statement prints. 

Word of Caution: Statement dates may vary depending on the billing cycle 28 days or 30, and on one month the statement close date may be the 3rd, where as on the next month it may be the 4th or 5th.

Note: As long as you pay before the statement date, and not utilize the card untill your statement is prinited the reporting to the Credit agencies should reflect either a zero balance if you paid off your card, or whatever balance you left on the card. Just rememeber if there is a balance left, make certain it is no more than 30% of your total credit allotted.  Example:500.00 credit limit the most that could reflect on your credit card is 150.00. But I always advise, keep the balance at the 25% if you are not able to pay the card in full.

Hope this provides you some insight.

Regards,

[DeanTeck]

my chase southwest airlines visa closes on the 10th of each month...i make a  $1000 pmt whenever my balance reaches that amount...then on the 9th of each month i pay the account in full and that balance, if any, is what is reported to the 3 credit bureaus...this method has taken me from the high 700's to a 820 score...

[josedcolon70]

As soon as we receive the statement, or notice that a new one has posted online, if there is a balance, I pay the minimum due; this way it shows we paid it on time. Then, as stated elsewhere, I look to see when last year's statement posted/closed for that month, and a day or two before, I will either pay it off or pay it down to less than $100. For the most part, the last two years I don't think we've paid more than $30 in interest to any of the three credit cards. That's what works for us, but you have to have the flexibility with the cash to pay the balances in order to be successful in 'the game'.

[fatima786]

There is a WHOLE bunch of crappy replies to your post and people are making a very very simple thing complicated. Here are the hard facts:

1. Balance on the statement cut-off date is the one that is reported to the bureaus. Which means, the balance on your account on the statement closing is the one reported.

2. Due date is the statement bill due date. MAKE SURE PAY BEFORE THE DUE DATE OTHERWISE YOU WILL INCUR LATE CHARGES.

3. After the due date, make sure that your balance is low on the statement cutoff date which is typically 3-5 days after the due date. 

SO, HERE IS A TECHNIQUE:

Your payment due is $25, due date: May 21st. Your total balance is $380.  Your statement closing date is May 24th. 

OKAY THE GAME:

1. Pay just $25 before the due date that satisfies the payment history.

2. If you have $380 dollars lying around or you can borrow it from someone for a day, pay the entire balance of $380 - $25 (Which you already paid) - $355 on May 24th before 5 or whatever the same day payment cut-off time is. 

3. NOW, your balance is ZERO on your new statement. This is what is going to SHOW ON YOUR CREDIT REPORT. 

4. You can take out or use the $355 that you borrowed or had lying around the very next day which is May 25th. 

GET IT?  Whatever it is, never pay late and make sure your balance on the statement cutoff date is low.

Thanks.

[takeshi74]

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@tanks wrote:

Purpose of a credit card is flexibility.  I pay the balance on all my cards by the due date in full, and usually charge about 6-10K a month depending on what I am doing.  I look at it as an interest free loan for about 3 weeks.

So, I see that balance on my cards each month on my FICO report, however I have yet to see it impact my credit score (high 700s).  I know that because I travel to remote places at times for hunting and not charge a thing on my cards.  No difference, on credit score at all.

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How does your reported utilization vary?  Does youre reported utilization actually drop to 0?

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@successfulslacker wrote:

For me it's a few days after the due date for every card and they all have different dates. From my experiece and tracking, the cards are reporting at the end of the due day!

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Sounds like your statement dates for the following cycles fall a few days after the prior cycles' due dates.  You can easily confirm by looking at your statements and comparing to the reported dates and comparing the statement balances to the reported balances.  There may be a difference of about a day between statement end and reported date.

AmEx, Chase & Discover definitely report at statement end.