paying balance before statement arrives?

mrtaylor272

ive filled my card up and still have a few days before my statement / minimum payment required.
is there any disadvantage by making a manual payment early to clear it?

robbo990

No, card usage, balance and payments are still recorded to the CRA's regardless. 

mrtaylor272

ok thanks i had in mind that it was only recorded if you paid a statement balance 

MikeJXE

Not sure how it works on all credit but on Halifax I reached my credit limit early by few days so I paid it off, at the end of the month they still stopped the full amount which then left the credit card in credit 

Ebe_Scrooge

Depends when your statement is actually produced (not necessarily when you receive it).  If you clear the balance in full before the statement is produced, then a zero balance will be reported to the CRAs for that month.  Not an issue as such, especially if it's just an occasional occurrence.  You could, of course, make a partial payment if you really want to have a balance reported for the sake of your credit history, but it really will make no difference at all in the grand scheme of things.

Or, just not use your card for a few days until the statement arrives and is paid.

If you do want to make a partial (or full) payment before the statement arrives in order to make further purchases on the card, make absolutely sure that your payment has cleared before you go out and put further spending on the card.  You don't want to inadvertently go over your limit and be hit with a penalty charge.

Whatever option you take, you must make sure to pay the balance in full, whatever that may be, when the statement arrives, if you want to avoid interest and maximise your good credit history.

[Deleted User]

If you pay it off, your statement will be produced at zero so it looks like you are not using it, defeating the point of having a card in terms of credit history

mrtaylor272

ok so best compromise is pay a chunk off now and the remaining balance next week once i have the statement 

robbo990

Deleted_User said:

If you pay it off, your statement will be produced at zero so it looks like you are not using it, defeating the point of having a card in terms of credit history

That is incorrect all spending, payments and balance are shared showing it is being used and repaid.

1931modela

For most of the cards I have if I pay off the balance or any other amount at least 7 days before it is due then they do not take the direct debit (as long as the payment is more than the minimum amount) if after this time then direct debit still goes through as well

Ebe_Scrooge

1931modela said:

For most of the cards I have if I pay off the balance or any other amount at least 7 days before it is due then they do not take the direct debit (as long as the payment is more than the minimum amount) if after this time then direct debit still goes through as well

Yup, as discussed in this thread : https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6405723/credit-card-company-have-double-dunted-my-current-account-balance-fees-incurred#latest

If you make a manual payment more than about 5 days or so before the DD is scheduled then the DD amount will be reduced accordingly.  If it's within about 3-4 days of the scheduled DD, then the DD amount will be based on the account balance before you made the manual payment.

cymruchris

Deleted_User said:

If you pay it off, your statement will be produced at zero so it looks like you are not using it, defeating the point of having a card in terms of credit history

I think things have moved on in some of the data sharing world, and now the 'spend' is recorded each month along with the balance - so it would in fact show that you'd spent the money, and cleared the balance. I'll go check later - but one of the CRA's definitely shows 'spend' and 'balance' - not just 'balance'.