A question about statement dates and payment dates.

[Anonymous]

Hi everyone, I was wondering if someone could clarify how statement dates and payment dates work in the context of CRA reporting and boosting scores.

I've read alot about keeping utilization rates below 9 percent; trying to have zero balances on all cards except one; using all cards to keep them active so the banks can generate revenue, so that's all part of the plan. I'd like to maximize my scores as much as possible.

My first question is: when someone says, "My Discover statement cuts on April 6 of every month," is that the same thing as saying, "My statement period closes on Apr 6, 2015."?

Is April 6 the date on which Discover will report my balance to the CRA?

So if I'm giving myself an artifical, score boost-manipulation deadline, I need to make sure that I have paid down the balance to my desired level by April 5, 2015? (I think Discover payments post in 24 hours as long as it's in before close of business.)

Will Discover report that balance to the CRAs on April 6, 2015 at 12:00:01 AM? So I can start putting charges on it again starting at 12:01:00 AM? If not, when can I start putting charges on it again if my due date is the second of the month?

I am planning to stop putting charges on the card on around the first or second of the month to give them time to post and for me to pay them before the sixth. Does this sound right?

Thanks everybody. This probably sounds really elementary but if I'm going to get dinged according to their rules, I want to make sure I get maximum benefit according to their rules.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

My first question is: when someone says, "My Discover statement cuts on April 6 of every month," is that the same thing as saying, "My statement period closes on Apr 6, 2015."?

Is April 6 the date on which Discover will report my balance to the CRA?

So if I'm giving myself an artifical, score boost-manipulation deadline, I need to make sure that I have paid down the balance to my desired level by April 5, 2015? (I think Discover payments post in 24 hours as long as it's in before close of business.)

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I only have one card and the statement 'cuts/closes' on the 16th, due on the 13th of the following month. I noticed that any score increase happened about 3-4 days after the statement was generated. So, I have been manipulating my balance by the 15th to my desired utilization and it's worked out perfectly. 

I'm pretty new to this, so not sure if I'm right or not. Hope that helps. 

[StartingOver10]

The balance that is reported is usually the statement balance which is what shows on your statement due date.  There is a couple of days from the due date to the reporting date (usually 3 or 4 days). i don't charge on the card during those days. Pay the card off or to a balance you want shown by the due date so you know exactly what will be reported and don't charge on it until it is reported to the CRAs.

[ysenhunt25]

you are correct; if statement closes on 6th you typically see the update 24-48 hrs afterward; you can check this by looking at the equifax report it will show last update date-this date is normally same or day or two after statement closing date for that particular account- over the last few yrs i have mastered the posting date criteria- every now and then its off especially if statement closes on weekends- if you look at creditkarma equifax report its also shows the date of account updating to bureau - monitor this over months you will then know each acct post dates -

[Anonymous]

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@StartingOver10 wrote:

The balance that is reported is usually the statement balance which is what shows on your statement due date.  There is a couple of days from the due date to the reporting date (usually 3 or 4 days). i don't charge on the card during those days. Pay the card off or to a balance you want shown by the due date so you know exactly what will be reported and don't charge on it until it is reported to the CRAs.

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This is really useful, thanks.  I was unclear about this as well.  For some reason i couldn't find the info anywhere, this great.  

[lg8302ch]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hi everyone, I was wondering if someone could clarify how statement dates and payment dates work in the context of CRA reporting and boosting scores.

• Statement date is the date when your CC issues the bill to pay. Payment due date is the date you will need to pay at least minimum payment not to be late or full statement balance not to pay interest

I've read alot about keeping utilization rates below 9 percent; trying to have zero balances on all cards except one; using all cards to keep them active so the banks can generate revenue, so that's all part of the plan. I'd like to maximize my scores as much as possible.

• For optimal Fico scoring you should try to have your CC statements close with 0 balance on statement date on all but 1 card and on that one you pay down everything over 1-9% also before the statement cut. The reported balance on that account you will pay then before the due date in full to avoid interest.

My first question is: when someone says, "My Discover statement cuts on April 6 of every month," is that the same thing as saying, "My statement period closes on Apr 6, 2015."?

• Yes. So if you want to let your  Discover card report a 0 balance you will need to look at what the current charge amount is on the account and pay the actual balance (not what you see on the payment due date from the previous statement) a few days before Discover cuts the statement. As soon as the statement is cut you can use your card again and these charges go into the next billing period. Most important is to never miss a payment. So make sure you check if the statement really got cut with a 0 balance and no minimum payment is due. There could have been a pending transaction that posted after you paid.

Is April 6 the date on which Discover will report my balance to the CRA?

• Pretty much but most banks report the statement balance and the CRA report is updated a few days later. Exception is US Bank. They do report at the end of the months and in this case it is not the statement balance but the balance on the account on the last business day of the month.

So if I'm giving myself an artifical, score boost-manipulation deadline, I need to make sure that I have paid down the balance to my desired level by April 5, 2015? (I think Discover payments post in 24 hours as long as it's in before close of business.)

• Exactly

Will Discover report that balance to the CRAs on April 6, 2015 at 12:00:01 AM? So I can start putting charges on it again starting at 12:01:00 AM? If not, when can I start putting charges on it again if my due date is the second of the month?

• The date and time does not matter so much as they will report the balance from your statement and you can use the card again after statement is cut.

I am planning to stop putting charges on the card on around the first or second of the month to give them time to post and for me to pay them before the sixth. Does this sound right?

•  Like this you do not have to worry about pending charges that could hit the same day the statement is cut

Thanks everybody. This probably sounds really elementary but if I'm going to get dinged according to their rules, I want to make sure I get maximum benefit according to their rules.

•  Do you have other cards that you can use for 0 balance reporting?  If so I would recommend to look at rotating the cards with the 0 balance to report. Chances for CLIs could possibly be better.

 Hope it is not to confusing ?

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[Anonymous]

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seaurchinroe wrote:

• For optimal Fico scoring you should try to have your CC statements close with 0 balance on statement date on all but 1 card and on that one you pay down everything over 1-9% also before the statement cut. The reported balance on that account you will pay then before the due date in full to avoid interest.

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This is unexpected... I thought that the optimal FICO score resulted from any/all credit cards being between 1-9% utilization at the time of statement/reporting.  

Is that not the case?  Should all be at zero except one?  

Is there any logic behind deciding which one?  Or is it an overall percentage?  This is confusing.  

[lg8302ch]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

• For optimal Fico scoring you should try to have your CC statements close with 0 balance on statement date on all but 1 card and on that one you pay down everything over 1-9% also before the statement cut. The reported balance on that account you will pay then before the due date in full to avoid interest.

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This is unexpected... I thought that the optimal FICO score resulted from any/all credit cards being between 1-9% utilization at the time of statement/reporting.  

Is that not the case?  Should all be at zero except one?  

Is there any logic behind deciding which one?  Or is it an overall percentage?  This is confusing.  

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Yes. For best results only 1 card the rest 0 balance.

Example: 5 cards report a balance of 1$ are lower Fico scores than 4 cards 0 balance and 1 card 5$ even though the debt amount is exactly the same. Also same overall utilization.  As SW subscriber I could not resist in hardcore testing. On my profile with the former Fico version last year  this was 40 points difference for this test with 8 accounts and 8$.  With the new Fico 8 version I never repeated the same test but noticed that the punishment is not that much anymore. But still it does not come to the same result.  Equally crazy is that if you report all account with 0 balance your score gets down.

[StartingOver10]

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@lg8302ch wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hi everyone, I was wondering if someone could clarify how statement dates and payment dates work in the context of CRA reporting and boosting scores.

• Statement date is the date when your CC issues the bill to pay. Payment due date is the date you will need to pay at least minimum payment not to be late or full statement balance not to pay interest

I've read alot about keeping utilization rates below 9 percent; trying to have zero balances on all cards except one; using all cards to keep them active so the banks can generate revenue, so that's all part of the plan. I'd like to maximize my scores as much as possible.

• For optimal Fico scoring you should try to have your CC statements close with 0 balance on statement date on all but 1 card and on that one you pay down everything over 1-9% also before the statement cut. The reported balance on that account you will pay then before the due date in full to avoid interest.

My first question is: when someone says, "My Discover statement cuts on April 6 of every month," is that the same thing as saying, "My statement period closes on Apr 6, 2015."?

• Yes. So if you want to let your  Discover card report a 0 balance you will need to look at what the current charge amount is on the account and pay the actual balance (not what you see on the payment due date from the previous statement) a few days before Discover cuts the statement. As soon as the statement is cut you can use your card again and these charges go into the next billing period. Most important is to never miss a payment. So make sure you check if the statement really got cut with a 0 balance and no minimum payment is due. There could have been a pending transaction that posted after you paid.

Is April 6 the date on which Discover will report my balance to the CRA?

• Pretty much but most banks report the statement balance and the CRA report is updated a few days later. Exception is US Bank. They do report at the end of the months and in this case it is not the statement balance but the balance on the account on the last business day of the month.

So if I'm giving myself an artifical, score boost-manipulation deadline, I need to make sure that I have paid down the balance to my desired level by April 5, 2015? (I think Discover payments post in 24 hours as long as it's in before close of business.)

• Exactly

Will Discover report that balance to the CRAs on April 6, 2015 at 12:00:01 AM? So I can start putting charges on it again starting at 12:01:00 AM? If not, when can I start putting charges on it again if my due date is the second of the month?

• The date and time does not matter so much as they will report the balance from your statement and you can use the card again after statement is cut.

I am planning to stop putting charges on the card on around the first or second of the month to give them time to post and for me to pay them before the sixth. Does this sound right?

•  Like this you do not have to worry about pending charges that could hit the same day the statement is cut

Thanks everybody. This probably sounds really elementary but if I'm going to get dinged according to their rules, I want to make sure I get maximum benefit according to their rules.

•  Do you have other cards that you can use for 0 balance reporting?  If so I would recommend to look at rotating the cards with the 0 balance to report. Chances for CLIs could possibly be better.

 Hope it is not to confusing ?

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^^^This. lg8302ch was much more detailed than I was - this is the best way to optimize your score.

I will say this though - some cc's like to see heavy usage of their cards before they will CLI so you want to actually use your card (and pay off) and not just sock drawer it the entire time. I have had CLIs declined due to 'not enough usage at the current credit level' or words to that effect.

Also, having many other cards report zero balances, as noted in lg's post, is extremely important. If you do decide to let large balances report, then make sure the other accounts are zero.

[Anonymous]

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@lg8302ch wrote:
As SW subscriber I could not resist in hardcore testing. 

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What is SW?