faiths13 Posted March 3, 2012 Report Share Posted March 3, 2012 My husband and I each just got a secured cc to help fix up our credit. My question is - should we wait to pay the bill when it arrives, or pay it off shortly after we use the card? I'm just wondering if when you pay the bill has effect on your score - like if you pay the balance off before a bill comes it won't have time to make a positive effect on your credit score. I've never had a cc before so I'm not sure how it works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rambler Posted March 8, 2012 Report Share Posted March 8, 2012 I could be wrong, but according to some things I have read paying ealry/often will give a small boost in score. Paying more than min is a small boost. But here's the kicker...best boost seems to come from maintaining a 20% balance...at least from what I have seen, and again this could be wrong. So if you have a $1000 limit it is my understanding that charging 500, paying 300 and letting 200 sit is your best bet for score boost. Numbers meant to be examples, not the actual amounts. I am trying to use my card quite often for as many things as possible and then pay my bill 1-2 time s amonth always early. I have a secured 500 card from cap one is all, but I try and leave some of a balance but pay off most of my purcahses right away. Again, I could be way off but it seems to be working ok so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crash5050 Posted March 11, 2012 Report Share Posted March 11, 2012 I have been paying mine weekly, I have a 300 merrick bank and a 351 Cap1. I use it a couple of times and then pay it off, use it a couple more times ad pay it off. Mostly for gas and drinks.I was under the following assumption. The card will reflect a 0 balance due, highest credit used and credit limit. So if I use 200 bucks on the Merrick card and pay it off, that would have been a 66% utilization on the highest balance. Not sure if that is the way it works or not, we will see in a couple of days when they make the 1st reports.David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taz Posted March 12, 2012 Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 Make sure that your payment gets there early enough that you are showing LESS than 30% owed on the date your statement closes. The due date is not the important date, the statement closing date is. You can use the entire limit of the card but just make sure you pay it down below the 30% threshold before the statement closing date. Make sure to carry some balance on it but just less than about a 30-35% max.I routinely charge quite a bit on my card but make several payments throughout the month. I always make sure it closes below 30% if I can help it. Keep in mind that this is just a snapshot in time and you can correct it for the next month if needed. Out of habit though I try to make sure it is always below 30% if at possible just in case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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