Is it best to pay off credit cards straight away or wait for a statement?

cmoorejnr83

In terms of what is best for increasing your credit score, is it best to pay off a creditcard straight away when making daily/weekly purchases or is it better to wait for a statement with a payment deadline then pay it off in one big payment, or does it not make a difference?

:huh::huh::huh:

Thanks in advance,

Chris M

CKhalvashi

The only time I pay it off before the statement is usually in July, as there's generally about £300k spend on a £60k limit (business expenses), but otherwise it usually averages around £35k a month and I'm continually being asked if I'd like an increase :eek:

You need to make sure that it appears the card is being used on your credit report, so I'd wait for the statement to come in for general spending.

CK

BugsyBrowne

CKhalvashi wrote: »

The only time I pay it off before the statement is usually in July, as there's generally about £300k spend on a £60k limit (business expenses), but otherwise it usually averages around £35k a month and I'm continually being asked if I'd like an increase :eek:

You need to make sure that it appears the card is being used on your credit report, so I'd wait for the statement to come in for general spending.

CK

You're up early this morning Lord Alan Sugar.

CKhalvashi

BugsyBrowne wrote: »

You're up early this morning Lord Alan Sugar.

Morning Bugsy

I've not actually been to bed yet, will be going shortly!

CK

pogg000

cmoorejnr83 wrote: »

In terms of what is best for increasing your credit score, is it best to pay off a creditcard straight away when making daily/weekly purchases or is it better to wait for a statement with a payment deadline then pay it off in one big payment, or does it not make a difference?

:huh::huh::huh:

Thanks in advance,

Chris M

If you have a savings account when you come back from shopping pay what you spent into it, than save it till payment is due on your statement. That way you will earn a little interest too

RichL74

Dont worry about your credit score, it is meaningless.

In fact I think there should be an smiley you can click on that populates the above text automatically.

Just pay your bills on time and dont go over your limits and everything else will look after itself.

RichL74

BugsyBrowne wrote: »

You're up early this morning Lord Alan Sugar.

That's Sir Nookie Bear to you, peasant.

Gromitt

Your statement balance shows up on your credit report, so it looks a little better if you pay the balance after you have received your statement. Paying early every month and getting a statement for £0 will look like an unused card.

fozmcfc

I always pay the full balance each month.

The only time I would pay extra before the statement, would be if I had made an emergency cash withdrawal in which case I pay it back ASAP as there interest is charged daily, even if you've had a £0 balance.

I have a direct debit set up on all my cards except one. So I pay the whole balance minus the direct debit amount. I.E. £200 on the statement, minimum payment by direct debit £5. I pay £195 by other means, then the £5 DD comes out and it's clear.

InsideInsurance

It all depends on what you are trying to achieve (and to some degree who your card issuer is)

Because I put everything (inc business expenses) through on one of my cards I do pay it off "in full" prior to the statement date but between paying it off and the statement being generated there will on average be a couple of hundred pounds put on it and so it always looks like a used card to other lenders but not that I am running a balance of ~£5,000

cmoorejnr83

RichL74 wrote: »

Dont worry about your credit score, it is meaningless.

In fact I think there should be an smiley you can click on that populates the above text automatically.

Just pay your bills on time and dont go over your limits and everything else will look after itself.

:think: I'm pretty sure your credit rating isn't meaningless :doh: