Credit score dipping a few points due to "Increase in credit card balance" but I pay it off each mo

[Tammyj]

Aloha!

I have been experiencing 2-4 point credit score drops in the past year, and the notification in Fico says that it's due to my credit card balance "increasing" from , say, $100 to $119. What I don't understand is that I pay off the balance of my credit card each month, so there should be a zero balance reported to the credit companies as well as an on-time payment history. Does anyone understand this? All I can assume is that my credit card company reports soon after my payment due date, when, of course, I have started to charge my credit card again or pending transactions post. How do I keep this from negatively impacting my credit given that I make on-time payments, adn I pay the balance in full on the due date? 

[DollyLama]

You want to pay BEFORE your statement cuts, not your due date. So when the statement cuts, and a few days later it will update your scores. Keep all cc's at zero balance with exception of ONE, and only have 8.9% of it's total credit line reporting a balance. Never pay ALL to zero.