Paying Off Balance Effect

Arctic_01

Hi,
I wanted to ask a question regarding paying off my balance and its effect on my credit score/file.
If I was to pay off any purchases moments after placing it, would this make any difference compared to leaving it until the end of the month and paying it all off at once?

Phoenix72

For the purpose of credit history it would look like you hadn't used the card.

CliveOfIndia

Any effect on your score is irrelevant since your score is not used - nor even seen - by any lender.

In terms of your credit history (which is what's important), you're much better to wait until the statement arrives then pay it off in full (ideally set up a DD for the full statement balance).  If you pay off transactions immediately then, when your data gets reported to the CRAs each month, it looks like you're not using the card, as noted by the previous poster (since it will always report a zero balance).  Not the end of the world as such, but you're missing out on the chance to build up a good solid credit history - which simply means demonstrating that you can use credit responsibly, borrow within your means, and always repay what you owe on time.

Actually, if you were to repay spending "immediately" you could find yourself coming unstuck.  It can take a while for a transaction to hit your account - sometimes it's pretty much instantaneous, sometimes it can take a day or two.  So it's possible that you make a payment, thinking you're repaying what you've just spent, when actually the transaction has not yet been statemented so it ends up not getting paid.

It's an unnecessarily complicated endeavour - just wait for the statement to arrive and pay it off in full before the due date (typically about 3 weeks or so after the statement is generated).