Credit card payment before or after statement

[Anonymous]

My statement processing date is tomorrow. Is it better for credit reporting and scores if I pay it after statement processing or before?

[Gmood1]

If your utilization is below 30%, I would allow the statement to cut before paying. That's if you want to show usage.

[Anonymous]

No reason to micromanage unless you need top credit score for some practical reason.

[Dahlia77]

Since i'm a freak about this stuff, I always pay all cards to zero except for one that I allow 1-9% to report.  Usually people do that to optimize scores when they're getting ready to app but I had such poor fico numbers when I started rebuilding that I feel better sticking to that habit every month.  Makes me feel more secure and since I never know what I'm going to get in the mail on any given day makes me feel like I have the room to accept a prequal/preapproval should it pop up in the mail.

[Anonymous]

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@Dahlia77 wrote:

Makes me feel more secure and since I never know what I'm going to get in the mail on any given day makes me feel like I have the room to accept a prequal/preapproval should it pop up in the mail.

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Why then are you in the garden? Did you not commit yourself not to apply for new credit until a certain date?

[Dahlia77]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Dahlia77 wrote:

Makes me feel more secure and since I never know what I'm going to get in the mail on any given day makes me feel like I have the room to accept a prequal/preapproval should it pop up in the mail.

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Why then are you in the garden? Did you not commit yourself not to apply for new credit to a certain date?

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Hell Yeah, I most certainly did.  But psychologically it just clicks for me to keep on doing the way I have from the beginning.  It's like chocolate, I'd fantasize a hell of alot more about it on a deserted island than in civilization where it's available up the street!  (Plus I wasn't in the garden for awhile and I won't always be in there....)