Credit Card Use

Natbag

I’ve finally paid off my credit cards 🥳 and want to start using the one I have left just here and there, mostly for purchase protection. Is it better for my credit score to let the direct debit pay the balance off in full each month after the bill date, rather than paying it off manually straight away?
Also, how long might it take for my credit report to reflect the fact my MBNA card balance is £0 and now closed? It still thinks I owe thousands, which is months out of date, and it’s affecting my score because it says I’m too high on credit utilisation - it thinks I owe more than half of what my credit limit is. I have asked them to sort it, but their excuse was wishy-washy at best. 😒

Jamesyb123

You’re about to get bombarded by posts saying to ignore you it credit score and they are correct. A direct debit is always a good idea as it stops you forgetting to make your payment.

Natbag

Jamesyb123 said:

You’re about to get bombarded by posts saying to ignore you it credit score and they are correct. A direct debit is always a good idea as it stops you forgetting to make your payment.

Thank you. The direct debit will always remain in place as a back up, it’s set to pay the balance in full every month. But usually if I use the card, I pay the money off straight away, like the same or next day. Just wondering if it’s better not to do that. I’m applying for a mortgage, and my score varies on different sites, so just want to see if there’s anything more I can do. 

[Deleted User]

Yes, it's better not to do that.

Jamesyb123

I think you usually have to wait for the statement to be produced and then make the payment to get the advantage of using and paying if you just keep paying off £50 immediately as you use it for petrol or something I’m not sure if that gets the desired effect of using and paying I think you do need to allow the statement to be produced first then pay

Yahoo_Mail

Natbag said:

Jamesyb123 said:

You’re about to get bombarded by posts saying to ignore you it credit score and they are correct. A direct debit is always a good idea as it stops you forgetting to make your payment.

Thank you. The direct debit will always remain in place as a back up, it’s set to pay the balance in full every month. But usually if I use the card, I pay the money off straight away, like the same or next day. Just wondering if it’s better not to do that. I’m applying for a mortgage, and my score varies on different sites, so just want to see if there’s anything more I can do. 

If you pay it off before the statement is generated a £0 balance will be reported on your file which will make it appear as if the card is not being used which is neutral, neither positive nor negative but obviously a waste of time if you're trying to build a positive history.

You need a balance to be there when the statement is generated to build a positive history, what method you use to pay it off after that doesn't matter.

Jamesyb123

Yahoo_Mail said:

Natbag said:

Jamesyb123 said:

You’re about to get bombarded by posts saying to ignore you it credit score and they are correct. A direct debit is always a good idea as it stops you forgetting to make your payment.

Thank you. The direct debit will always remain in place as a back up, it’s set to pay the balance in full every month. But usually if I use the card, I pay the money off straight away, like the same or next day. Just wondering if it’s better not to do that. I’m applying for a mortgage, and my score varies on different sites, so just want to see if there’s anything more I can do. 

If you pay it off before the statement is generated a £0 balance will be reported on your file which will make it appear as if the card is not being used which is neutral, neither positive nor negative but obviously a waste of time if you're trying to build a positive history.

You need a balance to be there when the statement is generated to build a positive history, what method you use to pay it off after that doesn't matter.

This is exactly what I was trying to say but I explained it terribly this is spot on 😂

Natbag

Thank you all, I thought that might be the case.
I’ll simply put the money to one side then, and wait for the direct debit to do its thing each month in that case.