Not understanding cc utilization trick

[Anonymous]

Okay so far for my credit rebuild I started a capital one card with 200 dollars but I recently added another one hundred giving it a 300 dollar balance. I always pay this card to 0 and not 10 percent because I'm not exactly sure how to do it I don't know when my statement date is I just know my due date is the 6th of every month..... I also started a fingerhut account and that will always be paid on time... in 2 weeks I'll be opening an open sky secured credit card for 300 as well. Am I on track for a good turnaround? My collections will not offer a pay for deletion sadly

[Anonymous]

Yes, you are on track.  Good job so far.

[juniornj23]

My also cut at 6 every moth so here is what I do pay off on the 5 then on the 8 charge 5% of your credit doing this will raise your credit score fast also you can make 3x payment so they see you really need more money and they will increase your credit

[seruby]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Okay so far for my credit rebuild I started a capital one card with 200 dollars but I recently added another one hundred giving it a 300 dollar balance. I always pay this card to 0 and not 10 percent because I'm not exactly sure how to do it I don't know when my statement date is I just know my due date is the 6th of every month..... I also started a fingerhut account and that will always be paid on time... in 2 weeks I'll be opening an open sky secured credit card for 300 as well. Am I on track for a good turnaround? My collections will not offer a pay for deletion sadly

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Your statement date is typically a few days after your due date.  If you look at your statements online, they should all have a statement date.  I know with capital one, you don't even have to open the statement.  If you log in and go to Accounts->Statements and Documents,  it'll say "Monthly Statement" then have the date next to it.  It's typically the same date every month (like capital one does - always the 21st for me), but some companies (like Merrick Bank) have it around the same time frame - for me, sometimes it's the 23rd, sometimes it's the 22nd.

If your due date is the 96th, I would guess your statement date would be the 9th or 10th.

Also, once you pay it down to <10%, don't start using it until you login to capital one and you see the  "Due Date" has jumped to the next month.  That's your assurance that the statement has been cut, even if you cant' see it online yet.  Since I know my statement date is the 17th, I log in on the 17th and 18th (and if need be, 19th) to check before I start using the card.

[Anonymous]

Okay so my due date is the 6th you're telling me to pay it all on the 6th and since my last statement was the 9th my statement date is probably the 9th... just charge 5 percent of my credit limit on the 8th??

[seruby]

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@Anonymous wrote:
Okay so my due date is the 6th you're telling me to pay it all on the 6th and since my last statement was the 9th my statement date is probably the 9th... just charge 5 percent of my credit limit on the 8th??

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Not quite.   If you charge something on the 8th, it may not post to the account by the 9th.

Your due date is the 6th - by this date, pay off the statement balance.  This way you don't get charged interest.  Any new charges won't have to be paid off until the following month. Before the 9th, pay down the current balance leaving only 5% on it.

Example:

May 27th statement:  Balance:  $200   Due Date:  6/24

New Purchases after May 27th:  $300

Current Balance on 6/22 (assuming no payments made):  $500 

By June 22(I say the 22rd because you always want to give time for the payment to post), you want to pay off that $200 statement balance, so you don't get charged interest the next month.   By June 25th (again, giving time for payment to post),  you want to pay off 90-99% of the $300 new purchases you made.  Then leave it  until you see the Due Date online change to "July 24th."

The due date is just the date to pay your previous balance by to avoid interest.  You don't have to pay off your full current balance by the due date, just the previous statement balance.

[Anonymous]

If you register online with Capital One so you can see your account, the due date and the statement date will be shown right on the account summary page. Register your bank account as well so you can do online payments.

[Anonymous]

Okay so I'll pay off my full balance on the 6th and then I'll charge 5 percent is this correct? or instead of paying in full know the 6th should I pay until I'm at 5 percent utilization haha sorry speak to me as a credit card beginner

[seruby]

Yea, you can do it one of 2 ways:

1)  Pay in full by the 6th,  charge 5% on the 7th to get posted on the 9th.

2)  Pay all but 5% of current balance by the 8th (as long as your statement balance is fully paid).

I personaly prefer option 2, because I'll know the charges have been posted, so it's more likely than not that it'll show 5%.   If you go with option 1, you run the risk of a charge not posting in time (i.e. sometimes if you pay gas with a card, it doesn't post until about 4 days later), and having a 0% reporting.   But each person is different so you have to go with what you're more comfortable with.

[Anonymous]

Isn't my statement balance the same as my current balance? ? For option 2 you said pay all but 5 percent of my current balance okay I can do that on the 8th but my bill is due on the 6th won't that charge interest option one seems easier and less risky if I pay in full o the 6th then on the 7th charge five percent I just won't do it with gas I'll go to the grocery store