Pay credit card balance after the statement received or every week or after significant expenditure?

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  • Willing2Learn
    Willing2Learn Posts: 6,294 Forumite
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    Yes that can be the case, but not always, as sometimes the criteria will be aligned
    I work within the voluntary sector, supporting vulnerable people to rebuild their lives.

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  • David2018
    David2018 Posts: 25 Forumite
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    PRAISETHESUN wrote: »
    I think in terms of maximising your credit HISTORY, if you pay off your balance immediately after making a purchase then the CC company will only ever report a zero balance, which will not help show that you can pay off a debt, as there is no debt to speak of in this instance.

    Although the statement balances can be £0 every month, but the credit report also shows Payment Amount (i.e. how much I paid in that month). So, if a statement balance is £0 in every month but Payment Amount is £700-800 in the corresponding months, then it should be clear for the lender that I was paying the balances before the statements. Would you agree?
  • Willing2Learn
    Willing2Learn Posts: 6,294 Forumite
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    Yes, but you still want to have a balance in the 'balance history' column as it shows you can pay down debt...
    I work within the voluntary sector, supporting vulnerable people to rebuild their lives.

    I love my job

    :smiley:
  • David2018
    David2018 Posts: 25 Forumite
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    Willing2Learn wrote: »
    Yes, but you still want to have a balance in the 'balance history' column as it shows you can pay down debt...

    Noddle calls that column Statement Balance. Under Balance History it puts amount that I don't understand where it comes from. I think it is balance at payment date, i.e. transactions since last statement until the payment date, assuming I paid the statement balance in full.
  • Willing2Learn
    Willing2Learn Posts: 6,294 Forumite
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    lol you made me open up Noddle to check.

    Balance history will be the balance at the time of the lender reporting to the CRA.
    Statement balance should be the amount on your statement.
    I work within the voluntary sector, supporting vulnerable people to rebuild their lives.

    I love my job

    :smiley:
  • David2018
    David2018 Posts: 25 Forumite
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    Willing2Learn wrote: »
    lol you made me open up Noddle to check.

    Thanks!
    Willing2Learn wrote: »
    Balance history will be the balance at the time of the lender reporting to the CRA.
    Statement balance should be the amount on your statement.

    So, as you confirmed, Balance History is not the same as Statement balance, which means the lender does not report the balance on statement date, otherwise they would be the same. So, even though statement balance is £0, balance reported in Balance History column can be £400-£500 (which could be 20%-40% of the credit limit) because it was captured at different point in time. In previous reply you said important is the Balance History column. So why is it important to wait and not to pay until the statement is out if the statement amount is not important, I somehow don't get it.

    And, if it shows that the balance in Balance History column is e.g. £500. In the next month it shows £600. How is it clear for the lender that I paid the £500 in full? So it comes down to the payment amount, right? If it is right then important must be the payment amount column, not the Balance history column. If it is not right then how does the lender know that I paid that amount in full? Somehow it is not logical for me. I am just trying to understand. Sorry for bothering you with so many questions.
  • Thrugelmir
    Thrugelmir Posts: 89,546 Forumite
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    PRAISETHESUN wrote: »
    I think in terms of maximising your credit HISTORY, if you pay off your balance immediately after making a purchase then the CC company will only ever report a zero balance,

    Only if your account balance is zero on the date that the lender collates the data.
  • boo_star
    boo_star Posts: 3,202 Forumite
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    As long as you don't pay off the balance before the statement is due you can pay it off in instalments if you want.

    It'd be more sensible to save the money in an interest bearing account and then pay it off in full, although some people can't help but spend their money so it'd be inadvisable for them.
  • Craig1981
    Craig1981 Posts: 769 Forumite
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    i use my CC for everything, and pay it off every few days - done this since 2011 as was given advice to do it this way by National Debtline when in my IVA. IVA finished 2016 as i continue to do so. haven't been rejected for anything i have applied for since :)
  • nic_c
    nic_c Posts: 2,928 Forumite
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    David2018 wrote: »
    Thanks!



    So, as you confirmed, Balance History is not the same as Statement balance, which means the lender does not report the balance on statement date, otherwise they would be the same. So, even though statement balance is £0, balance reported in Balance History column can be £400-£500 (which could be 20%-40% of the credit limit) because it was captured at different point in time. In previous reply you said important is the Balance History column. So why is it important to wait and not to pay until the statement is out if the statement amount is not important, I somehow don't get it.

    And, if it shows that the balance in Balance History column is e.g. £500. In the next month it shows £600. How is it clear for the lender that I paid the £500 in full? So it comes down to the payment amount, right? If it is right then important must be the payment amount column, not the Balance history column. If it is not right then how does the lender know that I paid that amount in full? Somehow it is not logical for me. I am just trying to understand. Sorry for bothering you with so many questions.
    The idea is that because if you are not paying off until after statement then it is showing balance, but if regularly clear the balance throughout, it may be reported as zero. Whether this is good or bad depends on other factors and can't really be taken in isolation. For some having a high balance show it shows utilisation of the 20-40% is good, for others showing utilisation at 99% may not be good even if clearing the balance.
    BUT that's only as far as CRA's are concerned. It's a minor factor, so the card, pay it off when you want (either before or after statement date) and always ignore the score


    You've used your card and bought things, oh thats bad - your score went down
    You paid it off before the statement date, oh thats bad - your score went down
    You waited until the statement and then paid it off, oh thats bad - your score went down
    You left the card in the drawer, but the wind changed direction, oh thats bad - your score went down
    :D
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