For those with rewards card - when to PIF?

[nycdebt]

Hello guys,

For those who use their credit cards for everyday use to rack up points/rewards, when do you usually pay it off?

Say you charge $100 for dinner one night. Do you pay it off in full the next day or do you wait until the bank cuts a statement?

Just trying to figure out what the best way to go about this was and what were the positives/negatives of doing either or.

[mdcrim]

I just wait for the statement. Don't see any reason to pay it off the next day and, wow, that could be incredibly confusing trying to keep up with...

[nycdebt]

well, I shouldn't have said PIF by the next day but maybe before the company cuts the statement? In this case, I would pay off all my balances right before the statement comes out so they would report a $0 balance to the CRs.

[disneysteve]

I would pay off all my balances right before the statement comes out so they would report a $0 balance to the CRs.

I'm not sure that the credit reporting happens the day before the statement is issued. Besides, unless you are overutilizing you card, it wouldn't really matter. If I charge $3,000/month but have a limit of $30,000, it doesn't really matter to me when they report my balance.

I pay my balance in full each month. I get the statement and pay it sometime between then and the due date.

[Ima saver]

I too, pay off my balance in full whenever I get the statement.

[kilapapipa]

We use one card, Discover and I watch it online. Statement calculates about the 5th of the month and is due by the 1st of the next month. We budget $1000 for the card from checking each month and get $50 food cards every time we rack up $45 in rewards. this way we can pay it off each month because it is budgeted for.

The point is that when I see that the card is approaching $1000 online within a cycle, I tell the wife, no more discover until the 6th of the next month. We use it for every day stuff like fuel and groceries or the like. Occaisionally, we buy something online as well as long as we stay under the monthly cap.

From your post, I do want to add that if we have to go over the $1000 in a cycle, I just auto bill pay the overage the next day like you were talking about.

[nycdebt]

great advice guys!

This is my first rewards card and I have not created a budget system so it'll be a test run this month. I'll have to make sure I track my expenses so I don't overspend.

Thanks a lot!

[snshijuptr]

We pay ours off when the statement comes in. I have online bill pay so I get an email and immediately go pay it off. We've never had cc debt issues, but I plan on tracking our cc charges as expenses when I test out an envelope system this month.

One thing I have heard is to immediately pay off all credit card charges before getting a credit check. CR's record your current balance (daily?) so a lower balance = more available credit...Right?

[kork13]

I've arranged for all of my CC's to come due within a few days of the 1st every month, so when the end of the month comes around, I just check the balance and send a payment online from my bank's website a day or two before the due date.

Technically, I suppose I'm actually paying before the statement closes (my statement balance is usually between $0 - $25, even though I charge hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars each month... But paying it when I do allows me the flexibility that if for some reason I need to delay my payment, I've got the extra billing cycle to do it.

[Thrif-t]

I pay mine off on the due date on the credit card site. I keep my money as long as possible

When I first started I'd subtract every transaction from my check register so I didn't overspend. Over the years i stopped doing that because now I just know.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

1st of every month everything is paid in full. Did it already today for March.

[JoshuaHeckathorn]

I too prefer to hold onto my cash as long as possible and take full advantage of the float, so I just pay my balance on the due date. I always keep my utilization to 10% or less as well, which makes sure the credit-scoring Gods continue to smile down upon me.

[snafu]

If you decide to use the CC system, I suggest you bring it on-line so that you can easily monitor charges. You need to know the cut-off date, billing date, and payment due date. To avoid any and all interest or charges I suggest you use on-line payment giving yourself a 3 day window to avoid holiday & weekend blips.

If you plan to make a major purchase, time it to meet your billing cycle, that is have it written up 2-3 days after CC cut-off billing cycle. That gives you two or three paydays to split the payment...not so painful. I discovered many retailers will give 90 days of free credit on major purchases, and I was able to work the CC billing dates into their system. I call it 'using other people's money.'

[maat55]

The only time I pay towards my bill early is when I have a large purchase that might affect my usage %. I will just pay enough top cover the large purchase for bookkeeping purposes.

[feh]

I pay mine off on the due date on the credit card site. I keep my money as long as possible

Same here. My statement is available on the first of the month, but it's not due until the 26th, which is when I pay it (electronically).