When do cc companies report to the agencies?

Question

Do they report on or shortly after each due date or sometime indiscriminately during the month? I would like to know so that when the due date is approaching, I could pay my card to under 40%. Thanks.

Answer 1

Without knowing which specific creditor you're inquiring about it there is not going to be a definate answer. From experience GEMB, Juniper, some Citi, & Target generally report the first half of the month. Household bank generally reports about 10 days after the billing period. American Express reports typically one week following the reporting month. As far as you wanting to pay below 40%, why wait until the due date is approaching? Why not submit payment now? Waiting until due date will allow the creditor to report the outstanding balance at payment closing. If you go ahead and pay down then the next report they send to the reporting agencies will be less therefore allowing for less utilization for reporting. Also for what it's worth, FICO is known to prefer utilization to be below 30% not 40%.

Answer 2

I don't think they report it until it is 30 days overdue.