Can I pay as I go or only end of the month?

Dozlar88

I'm looking at getting a credit card soon and was wondering if I had to pay monthly by direct debit which I have no issue with but would rather pay for something on my credit card and then pay it off straight away. Does it need to be a bigger amount at the end of the month or can I do it as I go and still get a good credit rating?
Thank you

[Deleted User]

Wait for the statement and then pay by the due date. DD is the easiest, but not the only way to do that.

Paying immediately can look as it you don't use it.

King_Of_Fools

The general advice is to open a savings account and transfer money into there as you use the credit card. Then at the end of the month you will have enough money to pay the credit card bill (plus you will earn a very small amount of interest as a bonus).

bluffer

the other drawback to paying it as you go is, it might block your debit card as multiple transactions to the same cc might raise a fraud flag on your acct.

Ben8282

Why bother to use a credit card if you want to pay it off immediately. Why not pay cash or use a debit card and avoid all the bother?
Oh ... I see... you want to get a good credit rating.
If you use the card for a small amount each month and repay in full, you will have demonstrated that you can afford to spend this small amount each month and be trusted to repay it in full. You have also demonstrated that you don't spend very much. don't pay interest and are a potentially very unprofitable customer..
If you use the card for a large amount each month and repay in full, you will have demonstrated that you can afford to spend this large amount each month and be trusted to repay it in full. You have also demonstrated that you spend a lot, don't pay interest but are nevertheless a potentially profitable customer due to the transaction values being put through the card. A prime candidate for a charge card in fact. However, if you choose this option. you need to be aware that if you have never held a credit card before you will in all probability be given a low credit limit to start and will need to avoid using too high a % of your available credit. Normally you should try to keep this down to around 30%, but when some providers give silly little limits like £150 it is difficult to know what to suggest for the best.
You will not demonstrate in any way that you can repay long term credit such as balance transfers, but if you keep up a good payment history such offers will become available to you, probably for shorter periods at first, longer periods as you borrow and repay. If the purpose of wanting good credit rating is to get long 0% periods then establish a pattern of using and repaying such promotional offers over time.
Repaying each transaction as it is made would look very odd indeed.
Unless for a very specific purpose, such as repaying a cash advance to avoid interest, never repay before the statement is produced. You can then either pay immediately if you so wish or else set up a direct debit to take the payment on the payment due date. Note that if you have a low limit card and wait until the payment due date to pay by direct debit, you may be restricting your ability to use the card during month 2 due to the amount of the balance already on the card but will be maximising your use of interest-free credit.

System

bluffer wrote: »

the other drawback to paying it as you go is, it might block your debit card as multiple transactions to the same cc might raise a fraud flag on your acct.

I've never paid ( my credit card bill) with a debit card, so I'd guess it's a minority activity? I pay off the bill as and when I choose by Faster Payment / cash and never had an issue x