Originally Posted by claydoh12

First of all this is my first post so if this is in the wrong forum please feel free to move it. I am new to the mileage game and in the past month and a half I have received the Chase SW card and the Delta Amex. I have already fulfilled the requirements for the initial signup bonuses: 50,000 RR points for SW and 30,000 SM for Delta. Both have been credited to my RR and SM accounts.

Now I want to make all of my purchases on these cards to accrue as many miles as I can. I will pay the balances off monthly to avoid paying interest. My question is this: Does a balance have to pass a statement date before miles are credited or is it credited immediately after purchase? For example, both cards give 1 mile per $ on general purchases. Let's say I charge $500 on one of them and pay it off about a week later online. Do I still get the 500 miles or RR points if I pay the balance off before statement date or do I need to wait for the statement to actually arrive before paying it off?

Thanks in advance for any info on this or any other info you could provide a newbie for getting the most out of these two cards.