Statement date vs payment date

[FireMedic1]

As @SouthJamaica said. Pay most of them before statement date. You'll want less than 50% reporting a balance or 3 cards in your case. FICO doesnt care too much for all cards or over 50% reporting. There are fans of AZEO on here and some not so much. I've been AZEO since BK for 6 yrs. I use the cards to get back the rewards. Then pay before the statement date so they report nada except one. Then have one card report $20. Once that posts then I pay it. For me I am not a fan of auto pay. It backfired on me yrs ago and we're never right with banks when they mess up. JMO. Computers have glitches. So I like to do things on my own. Yes it is a safe guard just in case you miss a payment on time. You can create a file and place the statement dates on your computer. Check it when you go on your puter. Ah its statement date for this card.

[Phana24]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@SouthJamaica wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hello everyone! New here and learning so much! Can someone please explain the difference and benefit of making a payment on the statement date vs the payment due date. Right now I have my credit cards on autopay to pay on the payment due date, which I think isn't the best option?

I've read a few posts that touch on the subject, but I kinda still don't get it. My little brain just isn't grasping it 🥴.

Please, any help is very appreciated. 

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I think it's highly risky to pay at the due date; I would pay much before that.

And if you want to maximize your FICO scores, I would pay most cards off before the statement even comes out.

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@SouthJamaica 

I definitely want to maximize my scores. After reading the responses I will definitely be changing my payment dates. Thank you so much for the advice!

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Just a couple of minor tidbits to add.  Cards have different lag times between due date and statement.  Cards can vary on how soon they process your payment.  For example, I can pay my BOA card(from their website) on the due date, and it ALWAYS shows on my statement 2 business days later.  Synchrony took FOREVER(4-5 business days.....even six when I had a 4K payment) when I was a new customer, and I had to pay at least a week before.  Now that I am apparently not an identity thief, 3 days is about average.  Finally, be aware that if you set autopay for the due date just to be safe, some banks will process the autopay even if you've made a substantial payment.  This comes into play if you think that will be your AZEO account and you plan to leave $20 on the card.  It could be auto-payed down to zero.  Yeah, I learned the hard way.

I suggest you track your cards when you make payments for a few months to see how the different cards handle and process your payments.  That way, you know exactly what your real "due date" is for maximum FICO.

[Phana24]

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@FireMedic1 wrote:

As @SouthJamaica said. Pay most of them before statement date. You'll want less than 50% reporting a balance or 3 cards in your case. FICO doesnt care too much for all cards or over 50% reporting. There are fans of AZEO on here and some not so much. I've been AZEO since BK for 6 yrs. I use the cards to get back the rewards. Then pay before the statement date so they report nada except one. Then have one card report $20. Once that posts then I pay it. For me I am not a fan of auto pay. It backfired on me yrs ago and we're never right with banks when they mess up. JMO. Computers have glitches. So I like to do things on my own. Yes it is a safe guard just in case you miss a payment on time. You can create a file and place the statement dates on your computer. Check it when you go on your puter. Ah its statement date for this card.

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I agree with @FireMedic1 for most people, but I do the autopay gig for the simple reason that I travel frequently on business, and it's often on short notice.  Since I got hacked on hotel Wifi(granted it was years ago and security is much better today but.....) and NEVER want to go through that hell again, I use it.  All I have to do is cancel it in the event I do not want that card to show a balance.  Most cards make it very easy to cancel EXCEPT Credit One.  Yes, I am one of those idiots who signed up for their "rewards" card before I got on this forum.