Originally Posted by
NewbieUtah
Let's assume there are two people, A and B. They have exactly the same background and the same credit card, say, Chase Freedom card of the same credit limit.
A checks the credit card and pay the balance off on a daily basis. B only checks the card balance and pays it off every month on the day before the statement is posted. Suppose Chase report the credit card balance once per month after the statement closes to the credit bureau. So I think the credit score of A and B should be the same from the credit bureau's perspective.
Interesting because I just checked my monthly credit scores with Citi Identity monitor. Last month I had balances on 3/11 Credit cards. This time it was 5/11 and my scores dropped by an average of 10 points.
From now on I'm going to ensure that no more than 1 card is reported with a balance. In other words, no activity close to the statement and full pay before statement due date. With chase it is hard to achieve zero balance as they allow you to pay only the outstanding balance. Outstanding balance doesn't include pending transactions so despite best efforts I have ended up with a balance on the card (<$50). I had $10 and $14 on the other cards and it still managed to ding my score by 10 points.
Then again, I'm paying so much attention because I am looking to apply for some more cards after Nov, when some inquiries drop off.