Paying your credit card bill early can seem like the responsible thing to do After all, paying your debts on time is a crucial part of maintaining good credit. However, when it comes to credit cards specifically, paying early isn’t always the best strategy Here’s a detailed look at whether or not you should pay your credit card bill early.
The Benefits of Paying Your Credit Card Early
There are a few potential benefits to paying your credit card bill early:
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Avoid Interest Charges If you typically carry a balance on your card, paying early means less interest accrues before your payment posts. This can save you money especially if your card has a high APR.
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Improve Credit Utilization: Your credit utilization ratio (the percentage of your total available credit that you’re using) is a key factor in your credit score. Paying early can help keep your utilization low.
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Build a Payments History: Making on-time payments is important for your credit report. Paying early guarantees your payment won’t be late.
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Free Up Credit: Paying early frees up credit on your card, allowing you to make new purchases if needed. This can be helpful if you’re trying to stick to a low utilization.
So in certain situations, paying your credit card early can provide some advantages. Next, let’s look at the potential downsides.
The Downsides of Paying Early
Paying your credit card early also has some potential disadvantages:
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Lose Interest Earnings: When you pay early, you lose out on interest you could have earned by keeping the money in your checking or savings account longer. The amount may be small, but it adds up.
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Risk Lowering Credit Score: Paying too early in your billing cycle can inadvertently lower your credit score. Credit bureaus may see a $0 balance reported, negatively impacting your score.
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Create Gap in Payment History: If you pay very early each month, you could end up with a gap between payments being reported, disrupting your positive payment history.
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Lost Fraud Protection: Some card issuers offer extra fraud protection on purchases made with the card. Paying right away means you lose this protection on new transactions.
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Lose Rewards: Certain rewards cards only tally points or cash back after your billing period closes. Paying early could cause you to temporarily lose out on some rewards.
So while it seems counterintuitive, paying too early can actually work against you in some cases.
When You Should Pay Early
Given the pros and cons, here are some situations when it makes sense to pay your credit card bill early:
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You’re Carrying a Balance: If you have existing credit card debt, pay it down as quickly as possible to minimize expensive interest charges. The savings outweigh lost interest earnings.
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Your Utilization is High: Try to pay early in your billing cycle if your balance is nearing 30% of your total available credit limit. This can help keep your utilization low.
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You’ll Be Traveling: Pay a few days early if you will be traveling near your due date. This prevents any chance of a late payment if you lose your card or have any issues while away.
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Your Grace Period is Ending: Be sure to pay in full before your grace period ends to avoid deferred interest promotions expiring. These can retroactively charge you interest on purchases if not paid in time.
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You’re Close to Maxing Out: Pay early to free up credit if you are getting close to your credit limit. This prevents credit denials or having to request a CLI.
When Should You Avoid Paying Early?
Here are some instances when you may want to hold off paying your credit card early:
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You Have No Balance: If you pay in full each month, wait until your due date. This allows you to earn interest longer and avoids credit score issues.
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You Need Continuous Activity: Don’t pay more than a few days early if you need ongoing account activity for credit building purposes.
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Your Billing Cycle is Ending: Try not to make a payment right before your statement closes. Let a small balance report to establish a usage pattern.
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You’re Earning Rewards: Pay on the due date to ensure you maximize rewards that only post after the billing cycle ends.
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You’re Short on Cash Flow: If money is tight, conserve cash by waiting until the due date to pay. Just be sure to pay on time.
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You’ll Get Hit with Fees: Some cards charge fees for paying by phone or online. Wait until the due date to avoid multiple fees.
Tips for Managing Bill Payments
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Check your statement closing date and note when your billing cycle ends each month.
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Monitor your balance and utilization regularly via online or mobile banking.
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Pay multiple times per month if needed to keep utilization low, but don’t overdo it.
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Consider making payments weekly or bi-weekly to align with your pay schedule.
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Set payment reminders to avoid forgetting and having a payment arrive late.
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Sign up for autopay as a safety net, but monitor payments to avoid overpaying.
The Bottom Line
When trying to decide if you should pay your credit card bill early, there are valid arguments on both sides. Ultimately, the “right” option depends entirely on your own financial situation and credit needs in any given billing cycle. Follow the guidelines above to determine the best approach each month. With some planning, you can maximize the benefits while minimizing the risks when it comes to early credit card payments.
Paying early could help your credit
One of the primary factors in your credit score is your credit utilization ratio. This is the amount you owe as a percentage of your credit limit. For example, if you have a $5,000 credit limit and your balance is $2,000, your utilization is 40%. Generally, the lower your utilization, the better, and utilization above 30% could be damaging to your credit scores. This is where changing up your credit card payment comes in.
Some people mistakenly believe that 30% utilization is a target — that you should aim to keep your credit card utilization around 30%. This is based on a misunderstanding. The 30% number should be viewed as a cap. Its best to assume that utilization above 30% will have a negative effect on your credit, but the lower, the better.
Credit scores are based on account information reported to the credit bureaus. That information includes your balance and your credit limit, from which the scoring formula determines your utilization ratio. But this information isnt continually updated in real time. Its reported only once a month, on the reporting date defined above.
In the example above, say your payment is due on the 20th of each month, but your issuer reports your balance on the 15th. If your issuer reported a $2,000 balance on the 15th, the credit bureaus would see a 40% utilization — even if you paid your bill in full just days later. Your credit score could end up getting dinged, even though your payment habits are solid.
So consider paying early whenever your credit utilization nears that 30% mark, regardless of when your bill is actually due. By monitoring your utilization and keeping it in check, you’ll be in good shape to get reported to the credit bureaus on any day of the month.
A final note on utilization: Credit utilization “has no memory,” meaning that it doesnt have a lasting effect on credit scores. High utilization one month might knock points off, but if your ratio goes back down the next month, your scores should recover.
A quick look at the billing cycle
Credit cards operate on a monthly billing cycle, and there are three dates to understand:
- The statement date. Once a month, your card issuer compiles all the activity on your card account and generates your statement. The day this happens is your statement date, also called the closing date. Anything that happens after this date — including activity between the time your statement is created and the time it reaches you in the mail — will go on your next statement.
- When your statement is produced, it will show a statement balance. This is calculated by taking the balance at the beginning of the billing cycle, adding all new charges made during the cycle, and subtracting any payments made during the cycle.
- The due date. This is the date by which you must pay at least the minimum amount due. The due date is usually about three weeks after the statement date. Failure to pay at least the minimum by the due date will result in a late fee.
- The reporting date. This the date on which the card issuer reports your balance to the credit bureaus. Unlike the closing date and due date, the reporting date does not appear on your bill. It could be any time during the month, but its best to assume it will be around the time of your statement closing date.
When To Pay Your Credit Card Bill (Everything You NEED To Know)
Should I pay my credit card bill early?
Paying your credit card bill early could simply mean making your monthly payment before the due date. Or it could also mean making an extra payment each month. Here’s how that might look: Make a full or partial payment before the billing cycle ends. Pay off any remaining charges once the card’s billing cycle closes but before the payment deadline.
When should I make a credit card payment?
Make at least the minimum payment by the due date. In some cases, making that early additional payment during your billing cycle may improve your credit in the long run. Most credit cards have a grace period. It’s the time between the end of your billing cycle and the date your payment is due.
Should I pay my credit card bill ahead of schedule?
That brings up the potential benefits of paying your credit card bill ahead of schedule. If you make a payment to your account before your card’s statement closing date, instead of on or before its payment due date, you can lower the utilization percentage used to calculate your credit score. Here’s how it works.
Why should I pay my credit card early?
Because credit utilization is a credit-scoring factor, keeping it lower may help raise your credit scores over time. Paying your credit card bill on time and in full can help you avoid interest charges on purchases and late fees. Join the millions using CreditWise from Capital One. What happens if you pay your credit card early?