Showerthought: I was paying my credit card bill wrong for two years

I always paid my statement balance on the due date, thinking I was doing great. Then my buddy in Phoenix asked me last week what my credit utilization was. I checked my report and saw my score was stuck at 680. The problem? My card issuer reported my balance to the bureaus on the 5th of each month, but I paid on the 15th. So they were reporting a high balance every single time, even though I paid in full. I moved my payment date to the 1st, and my score jumped 25 points in one cycle. Has anyone else had to change their payment date because of their issuer's reporting schedule?

3 comments

3 Comments

cooper.drew14d ago

Man, that's the kind of hidden rule they never tell you about. I did something similar, but my bank reported right after I'd buy groceries, so my score looked like I was living large on just eggs and bread.

amy_craig2813d ago

Totally used to think it was all noise that would even out. Then I tried to get a car loan right after my statement date hit with a big balance. The rate they offered was way higher, and the guy straight up said my usage looked maxed out. Had to wait a whole cycle for it to report a lower balance. Now I watch that date like a hawk.

paige_owens514d ago

Wait, does that actually matter though? It's just a snapshot on one random day. My credit card balance looks crazy high right after I pay rent, but it goes back down. The score bounces around all the time over small stuff. It feels like we're worrying about tiny details that fix themselves in a month.