Is it good or bad to carry an unpaid balance? I always pay off my balances as soon as possible (latest 3 days or so)... is this a good or bad idea? If someone shed some lite on this situation I would appreciate it. Thanks.
If you can pay off your balances in full every month, then do it. Don't pay interest unless you have to. Too many people are focused to much on their scores. Heck if you can pay them off every month and pay no interest and be basically debt free after they are paid, then do it and keep doing it
Does carrying a balance equate to a not paid on time remark on your credit report? Wouldn't carrying a balance ALWAYS hurt your score? Thanks. -mosdef
I have a household account that is due on the 23rd. Household reports to all 3 bureaus on the 26th. If your payment hits on the 27th, TU report will show "past due" amount on the report and it is placed in the adverse area of the report even though it could only be one day late! What a rip-off!!! My score went down 14 points when this happened. I had to get the local Household Mgr to write a letter stating never/late/current... then fax it to TU who updated the report 5 days later. My score went back up only 11 points??? WTF!!!
*sigh* FICO notwithstanding, if you have the means to pay in full, then by all means do it! The only caveat is that your CC issuer may be a little more stingy with credit line increases and APR reductions because you are not the most "profitable" customer for them. But if you pay in full every month, these things probably won't matter to you anyway. Carrying a balance does not equal "not paid on time" on your credit report, as long as you make your payments on time and pay at least the minimum. If you do these two things your account should report "pays as agreed/R1". I hope that answers your questions!
