Pay off CC once a month or twice/three times month to avoid consuming revolving credit?

[Anonymous]

Hello.  I use my credit card for pretty much all purchases/expenses; however, I pay off the entire balance by the end of the month.  Someone told me though that if my balance is higher than a certain percentage (I think 40%) of my revolving credit, it will negatively affect my Fico score.  For example, if my monthly purchases/expenses add up to approx. $5,000 per month and my credit limit is $8,000, even though the balance is paid in full every month consistently, my score will be negatively affected.  Feedback?  And if it's true, should I make more than one payment per month?

[Stephen_Dashman]

I don't think it matters if you pay once, or 2-3 times a month other than for your own personal utilization, but if this is your only credit card I would suggest carrying a balance of under 9% or get another card to carry over each month to help your utilization/score even more.

[bettercreditguy1]

To maximize your score with the least  impact, cc debt should be under 10% of all available cc limits, and under 10% per card. Your situation is not problematic and does not hurt anything unless you are getting ready for a major loan, ie car, home, or an additional credit card. Should that situation occur, you should pay down your balances to less than 10% wait until the payments update to the credit reporting agencies and then apply. Real hits to your Fico score when you get to 80% or above. Then it appears you are desparate for money, (that is you can not pay your bills), or you need more credit (mis-spending, over spending, etc) which raise big red flags to lenders. Remember that as soon as your balances are paid and report, Fico Score rapidly recovers as it is only a snapshot of the moment. It has no memory of the past and no way to predict the future. Unless you have very high credit limits, it is nearly impossible to stay under 10% per month consistently.

[Anonymous]

Credit cards generally report the balance that appears on your statement.  There is no balance history used in FICO scoring, so a few months before you need your score high, start paying off the balance a few days before the statement is printed.  Then minimise spending until the statement is printed.  You will need to make another payment before the due date to keep the card company satisfied.  Your score will be highest if at least half of your cards report a 0 balance (fully paid before the statement) and the others report 9% or less each.