Is there a best time to pay off credit card?

sufcboy

Hi all.
Recently got my first credit card to help build my credit history/score in preparations for buying a first house. I’m just wondering does paying the bill before my statement comes make any difference?, either positive or negative. And vice versa if I wait till the statement comes and then pay it does it make any difference? Or is it as long as I’ve paid it off in full before the payment due date it doesn’t make a difference?

Thanks

Willing2Learn

Wait for the statement to come before paying the balance. If you set it up so that the full balance is paid by Direct Debit each month, then you can't go wrong.

Please be aware that the first month's Direct Debit may not be set up in time. Make sure you look at your statement. If the Direct Debit is successfully set up then it will say so on the statement. You can pay the statement manually, before the due date, if the DD is not ready.

[Deleted User]

Pay in full after the statement.

Ignore building your score/rating.

System

If you have built up a balance that will be more than 30% of your total available credit then I would say pay it off before your statement is generated.

Ebe_Scrooge

Forget about your credit "score", that's seen by no-one except you and the credit reference agency. Sensible use of a credit card will, however, improve your credit history over time.

To get the most benefit, you need to wait until you receive your statement each month, then pay off the balance in full. You've usually got a couple of weeks or so between receiving the statement and the "payment due" date - though the due date will be clearly stated on the statement.

The problem with paying off transactions before the statement is produced is that it will look to the CRA - and hence to prospective future lenders - like you are not using the card. That in itself is not a bad thing, but it won't be doing much to build up your history of responsible borrowing and repayment - which it sounds like is your primary aim.

Saying that, you really MUST make sure you pay in full, on time, every month. If you're late in paying, that will be a black mark against you. A couple of late payments in years of otherwise faultless history is not the end of the world. But lots of late payments starts to affect your history very badly.

And if you don't pay the full amount each month, you'll be paying interest - which no-one like doing :-)

Verityspinelli

There’s nothing negative about paying chunks off of your credit card earlier then the statement date especially if you’re looking to borrow more and spending over a reasonable utilisation amount, some say no more then 30%. Yes it is correct that you shouldn't pay to much notice to the score generated by the credit reference agencies they are not relevant.
If you’re not intending on borrowing any more anytime soon then don’t worry about paying your balance off before the statement date, make the most of the interest free period. What’s important is you pay off in full every month and you do that for your own peace of mind, nobody wants to pay more then they should, right?

Good luck with your venture into money management.

st999

If you have built up a balance that will be more than 30% of your total available credit then I would say pay it off before your statement is generated.

Why? .

Duckyduck

If you pay it off before the statement then it doesn’t get reported so doesn’t impact your credit history/score.

So best course of action is wait for the statement and then pay off in full before the due date.

shortcrust

I think if you're paying the balance in full it doesn't make a blind bit of difference.

System

st999 wrote: »

Why? .

Because otherwise there will be data on your file indicating that you have been using more than "30%" (or whatever it is) on your file. Which isnt terrible, but is not ideal.

PRAISETHESUN

Pay in full once the statement is generated - set up a direct debit from your current account (making sure to elect to pay in full) to make sure you don't forget!