Hey all. Long time lurker.

I've been working my tail off to earn Elite 20k after signing up for the Barclays card back in September. So far I have 19,616 status miles (384 short). The thing is my credit card billing cycle ends on Jan 21st, and from what I understand if I don't earn the Elite 20k by December 31st then my miles reset to 0. Am I right about that?

Any advice on how to earn the remaining 384 status miles?

E.g. Can I pay down a balance on my CC before my billing cycle ends? Would that do it?

Thanks in advance!!