So paying off a purchase a few days later on a card isn't doing much for one's score?

[Sixburgh79]

For example, I throw my beach home rental down payment on one of my cards for 1000 bucks and then I'm a day or two I just make a 1000 payment, basically just wanting to get the rewards for the charge... Is this not really helpful?

I mean outside of the obvious yes it's helpful in you don't want to have high util and it needs paid, but is a day or two turn around to quick to pay it off with it not reflecting on your scores?

Been reading a few posts on that subject and I'm confused a bit. I assumed they would love to see someone just take care of business that quick, but from what I'm reading it doesn't seem that's accurate. That it needs to sit there for a bit to reflect. Would love some clarification, thanks!

[patoot10]

All that matters is the account balance on credit report.

If someone sees you have a bunch of accounts and all have balances. its bad

if you do all zero but one its best for Fico scores

I was denied before because i had "Too much available credit"

So technically its not a bad idea to have some balance somewhere so that issuers think that you can get sloppy and they make some interest off of you.

keeping tiny balance on one card makes it clear that you are not a profitable customer.

[iheartwings]

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@Sixburgh79 wrote:
For example, I throw my beach home rental down payment on one of my cards for 1000 bucks and then I'm a day or two I just make a 1000 payment, basically just wanting to get the rewards for the charge... Is this not really helpful?

I mean outside of the obvious yes it's helpful in you don't want to have high util and it needs paid, but is a day or two turn around to quick to pay it off with it not reflecting on your scores?

Been reading a few posts on that subject and I'm confused a bit. I assumed they would love to see someone just take care of business that quick, but from what I'm reading it doesn't seem that's accurate. That it needs to sit there for a bit to reflect. Would love some clarification, thanks!

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What matters for your credit report is your balance when your statement closes. CC, for the most part, report once a month. Most will report to CB 1-2 days after the statement closes. One notable exception would be US Bank, which reports your balance from the last calendar day of the month. Few CC will update midcycle on request (I'm not sure about that). Chase does automatically update midcycle if you pay your outstanding balance to zero (as you are doing above). 

Like you, I am also a transactor (those carry a balance are known as revolvers). For utilitzation purposes and to optimize your FICO score, you want a balance to report (having zero balances reported across cards actually lowers your score, just like too much utilization does). You can look up AZEO (all zero except one) and thresholds for optimal utilization. Depending on the number of your cards, you may not need AZEO to optimize your utilization (I usually have 2 cards report, but I have 12 cards total) depending on FICO version. Also important are staying below utilization thresholds for individual cards as well as total credit limit.  

Hope that helps. 

[pipeguy]

I rarely float my payment until due, many times paying the purchase as soon as it posts. Can't say I've ever had a problem or push-back for any issuer, although some won't accept the payment until the pending status switches to posted. 

Frankly, if I had a card that seriously pushed back from me paying too quickly, I'd probably dump that card (it helps that I have a lot of cards so I wouldn't feel any "pain" per se). 

[Anonymous]

Why would lenders push back on paying early? Lenders will happily take your early payment along with your interest that you should be making during the floating period (between 25 to 55 days of interest).

[Anonymous]

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@Sixburgh79 wrote:
For example, I throw my beach home rental down payment on one of my cards for 1000 bucks and then I'm a day or two I just make a 1000 payment, basically just wanting to get the rewards for the charge... Is this not really helpful?

I mean outside of the obvious yes it's helpful in you don't want to have high util and it needs paid, but is a day or two turn around to quick to pay it off with it not reflecting on your scores?

Been reading a few posts on that subject and I'm confused a bit. I assumed they would love to see someone just take care of business that quick, but from what I'm reading it doesn't seem that's accurate. That it needs to sit there for a bit to reflect. Would love some clarification, thanks!

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There are two audiences for your credit card activity on a particular card: the issuer of that card and all other issuers/lenders.

So if you put $1000 on the card and then paid it off in two days (assuming the statement didn't cut in those two days), that's pretty invisible to users of your credit report so it won't impact your FICO score.   However, the issuer knows exactly what happened, and might or might not be particularly happy.    As oldman87 says, they might be happy that you are waiving the float and so they are not giving you an interest free loan, but if the rewards are greater than their share of the fees, they might also view you are unlikely to be profitable in the internal system (presumably they would want to see more than one incident to determine this)

But unless you have a need to be concered with your credit score, do whatever style suits you, just being aware of the pros and cons of each approach.

[Sixburgh79]

It's funny how I simply used to think on time payments and or just quickly paying off balances was the key to making creditors happy and trust you, but it seems like there's so many other small intricate aspects to it all that it can make a person not know if they're coming or going.

[HeavenOhio]

@Sixburgh79, I woudn't overthink this. Paying in full by the due date is what matters most. That avoids interest along with keeping lenders happy.

Beyond that, you want to do what's best for your budget and spending patterns. If paying right away works for you, then go ahead and do it. If you'd rather hang onto your money for a while, that's cool too.

I take a number of different approaches to payments. If a card is showing typical usage, I'll pay either just before or just after the statement date. If there's an unusually large charge, I like to tackle it sooner than later and pay within a few days. Along with that, if my balance has reached a point where I'm not comfortable, I'll make a payment. And if I have a card with a couple of small charges and I'm done using it for the month, I'll pay it off and get the bookkeeping out of the way.

Keeping utilization in check is definitely something to address, but you may not need to put a ton of effort into it unless your scores are low or you're about to apply for important credit. Keeping reported balances at a responible level (28.9% of your limits or below) is fine for many people. For others, it's a good idea to put some extra effort into keeping balances low.

[SouthJamaica]

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@Sixburgh79 wrote:
For example, I throw my beach home rental down payment on one of my cards for 1000 bucks and then I'm a day or two I just make a 1000 payment, basically just wanting to get the rewards for the charge... Is this not really helpful?

I mean outside of the obvious yes it's helpful in you don't want to have high util and it needs paid, but is a day or two turn around to quick to pay it off with it not reflecting on your scores?

Been reading a few posts on that subject and I'm confused a bit. I assumed they would love to see someone just take care of business that quick, but from what I'm reading it doesn't seem that's accurate. That it needs to sit there for a bit to reflect. Would love some clarification, thanks!

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There's nothing wrong with doing it that way. Perfectly fine. No one cares how long it 'sits there'.  The "utilization" that gets factored into your FICO scores is the reported balance, which is usually the statement balance.

[iheartwings]

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@Sixburgh79 wrote:
It's funny how I simply used to think on time payments and or just quickly paying off balances was the key to making creditors happy and trust you, but it seems like there's so many other small intricate aspects to it all that it can make a person not know if they're coming or going.

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As others have said - don't overthink it.

I pay my balances off weekly (or 10 days if I have a particularly busy week at work). None of the my current issuers (AmEx, Chase, Citi, US Bank, Discover, and Target) have given me any problems for paying off my balances before the end of a billing period.  I severed ties with the one that did take AA (Capital One had been slashing CLs for not using my card enough). 

There are several aspects to the utilization game if you need to maximize your FICO score. If you don't, then as Bobby McFerrin sang, "Don't Worry, Be Happy".