@kshurika wrote:I know that to boost my credit scores I want to pay down my credit card balances as much as possible prior to the statement close. But, what if I pay down or pay off a card after the close of the statement, will a lender checking my credit see a current, updated score, or is there a time lag before the update?
As an illustration, if today I pay off a $10k balance on a card, will a lender checking my credit see an improved score in 4 days or so? I know I'm supposed to know this stuff, but I've been out of the loop for awhile.
1. The lender doesn't "see" a score at the bureau, it pulls a score with the report.
2. It's up to the lender to decide which score to pull when it pulls the report.
3. The data in the report, which forms the basis of the score, is updated continuously at the bureau.
4. The specific data example you cited -- a credit card balance -- depends on what date's balance the lender reports to the bureau and also depends on when the lender reports it. E.g. if the particular lender reports the statement balance, and you paid off the balance the day before the statement cut, it will report a zero balance. Some lenders will report it the next day, some will take longer.
Once the statement posts. Within the next few days it will reflect the new balance. Some are faster or some are slower than others.
@kshurika wrote:
So, then, to summarize: if a card's closing date is the 16th and I pay it down to zero on the 18th, the CRAs won't get the new balance (and thereby adjust my rating) until my next statement cuts. Is that right?
The CRA's won't get the new balance.
As mentioned above, the CRA's don't adjust your rating. They don't even know your rating. They just supply the data.
@kshurika wrote:
@SouthJamaica wrote:
@kshurika wrote:
So, then, to summarize: if a card's closing date is the 16th and I pay it down to zero on the 18th, the CRAs won't get the new balance (and thereby adjust my rating) until my next statement cuts. Is that right?
The CRA's won't get the new balance.
As mentioned above, the CRA's don't adjust your rating. They don't even know your rating. They just supply the data.
- Okay, I don't know why those numbers showed up, but I don't really care. What are we talking about here? Is this a case of semantics? I'm calling Experian, TransUnion and Equifax CRAs. Should I call them something else? Are you saying they "don't adjust (my) rating and don't even know (my) rating? It surely doesn't seem that way to me.
Let me simplify my question? When can a "potential lender" receive/view/acquire/learn/ be apprised of/ascertain my most recent / current / up-to-date / at-present numbers from Experian, TransUnion and Equifax? Allow me to simplify even more: If, AFTER my 16th of the month statement closing date I bring a credit card's balance down to zero by paying $10,000, APPROXIMATELY how long AFTER I MAKE THAT PAYMENT will it take Experian to upgrade my rating (commonly shown as a three-digit number) and when will that current/most recent/up-to-date three digit number from Experian be viewable by / discernable to said potential lender?
The only information I'm looking for here, is a time frame.
Cheers and thanks to everyone.
Assuming that (a) your lender is not Chase or Synchrony, and (b) the balance which your lender reports each month is the statement balance.... if you make a payment after the closing date, bringing the balance down to zero, the zero balance will not be included in your report until after the following statement date.
@CreditMagic7 wrote:
@SouthJamaica wrote:
@kshurika wrote:
@SouthJamaica wrote:
@kshurika wrote:
So, then, to summarize: if a card's closing date is the 16th and I pay it down to zero on the 18th, the CRAs won't get the new balance (and thereby adjust my rating) until my next statement cuts. Is that right?
The CRA's won't get the new balance.
As mentioned above, the CRA's don't adjust your rating. They don't even know your rating. They just supply the data.
- Okay, I don't know why those numbers showed up, but I don't really care. What are we talking about here? Is this a case of semantics? I'm calling Experian, TransUnion and Equifax CRAs. Should I call them something else? Are you saying they "don't adjust (my) rating and don't even know (my) rating? It surely doesn't seem that way to me.
Let me simplify my question? When can a "potential lender" receive/view/acquire/learn/ be apprised of/ascertain my most recent / current / up-to-date / at-present numbers from Experian, TransUnion and Equifax? Allow me to simplify even more: If, AFTER my 16th of the month statement closing date I bring a credit card's balance down to zero by paying $10,000, APPROXIMATELY how long AFTER I MAKE THAT PAYMENT will it take Experian to upgrade my rating (commonly shown as a three-digit number) and when will that current/most recent/up-to-date three digit number from Experian be viewable by / discernable to said potential lender?
The only information I'm looking for here, is a time frame.
Cheers and thanks to everyone.
Assuming that (a) your lender is not Chase or Synchrony, and (b) the balance which your lender reports each month is the statement balance.... if you make a payment after the closing date, bringing the balance down to zero, the zero balance will not be included in your report until after the following statement date.
Wasn't that keenly aware that Synchrony (Like Chase) zero reports to the CRAs on a PIF within any statement cycle. Good info
I did NOT say that "Synchrony (Like Chase) zero reports to the CRAs on a PIF".
I was excluding Synchrony from the general rule I was about to express for a wholly different reason -- the fact that it reports erratically and unpredictably, sometimes reporting larger than usual balances.
I would suggest you begin requesting your FREE credit reports from annualcreditreport.com. You can request each of the 3 CRA's on up to a weekly basis, at no charge, thru at least the end of 2022. I request mine 2-3 times per month about 3 days after my statements cut from the main cards/lenders I use. I also like keeping an eye on dates of/frequency of "soft pull" inquiries on my CRA files (both promotional AND lender reviews). Review of actual credit reports is the only way to track those.
What you see on those reports, on any given day, is the SAME thing a lender would see on that same day if they were to pull your report/reports. The lender WILL NOT see "soft" inquiries of ANY type....they only see ALL "hard" inquiries, as well as all the credit account information.
Since balances are not reported in a totally consistent manner amongst ALL lenders, you need to monitor each of your individual accounts to see for yourself when/how each lender reports your account balance. Once you know that information, and you know when YOU can see your "balance reported" change/update, you will then know when a lender "can see" the same balance updates.
The reports you can review/download/print from ACR dot com are the most quickly updated source for account balance reporting information. Other sites that provide your FICO or Vantage scores (as well as more limited credit report information) are usually lagging by a day or few. Exception to that is the requested notification of hard inquiries for new credit.
I find reviewing my ACR reports VERY useful, even though they do not provide any scoring. I'm gonna be hating it when they end the "free weekly reports" and go back to one free report per bureau per year. 🥲
