When is the best time to pay your bill

[Anonymous]

I have recently paid all of my credit cards to $0 and now I just use it for little things and payit off.  I am now receiving balance change alerts stating my balance decreced from $28 to $0 and my score dropped 11 points.  Is this because I paid it right when the charge showed in my accout?  Should I wait untill the due date?  Right now every point matters because I am in the prosses of building a home and I am a few points shy of my target 640.  I have about 4 weeks before I close.

[RSX]

all CC's reporting zero will cause that score drop you noticed

AZEO is the method recommended for boosting your score

All Zero Except One

so let one of your CC's report $10 - needs to be a bank card i believe

[Anonymous]

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@dragontears wrote:

Yes and no. 

It is the ideal time to pay if you are manipulating the amount being reported 

It is not the ideal time if you have not already made the minimum payment (your lender will charge a late fee)

It is not the ideal time if you are carrying a balance and paying interest. Credit cards use the average daily balance method to charge interest so it is best to pay immediately after your statement prints.

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I have a card i've paid to zero that is a rewards card with i think 2% cash back.  I currently pay all my bills out of checking.  id like to pay my bills on this credit card to get the points, but pay in full in a manner that avoirds interet making it not worth it and still reporting 0 balance.

is this realistic?

[Anonymous]

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@RSX wrote:

all CC's reporting zero will cause that score drop you noticed

AZEO is the method recommended for boosting your score

All Zero Except One

so let one of your CC's report $10 - needs to be a bank card i believe

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^^^^^This, if you're looking to maximize your score potential.

[staticvoidmain]

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@jsuero93 wrote:

So lets say my statment is made on 04/25 so i should pay it on 04/24. That would be the ideal time correct 

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Not exactly. Your statement date depends on two things: your due date and the bank. Many banks have non-consistent statement dates. You need to calculate the day based on the bank's formula relative to the due date.

[coreysw12]

If you're trying to manipulate your balances reported, while also trying to make your payment on the absolute last day to make it before your next statement cuts, that means you'll need to make 2 payments every month:

1. The first payment needs to be before your due date. If your goal is to avoid interest, then you need to pay your full last-statement balance, which may or may not be less that your current balance. Otherwise, you just need to make at least the minimum payment.
2. The second payment needs to be on the day before the statement cuts, and your payment amount depends on your goal. If your goal is AZEO, then you need to pay your full current balance (or leave a little balance if it's your "except one" card)