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iDoes it look better to pay it all off the first month, pay the minimum monthly payments, or pay like double the minimum every month?
i have about $15 due every month on a few different cards…and usually pay like $40 or $50 on each one…and usually they’re paid off within 3 months or so…i’m just talking small time stuff, like clothing stores and such…
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1.) You need to be looking at your credit reports, at least twice a year. I look monthly. You need to look because you want to be sure those revolving accounts ( the store cc’s ) are reporting your information correctly. They can report incorrectly at their benefit. It happens.
2.) You have a 4k limit at bestbuy. That 4k is a great number if it’s reported. The more potential credit available to you, the better, ( as already stated ) right? Well often agencies will only report the max you’ve spent. So of that 4k, you’ve spent 400 on an xbox, your limit might be reporting at only 400, and if you are only making small payments, it may look as though you are utilizing a large majority of your credit… which will undoubtedly hurt your scores. it could look like= $350/400 is in use… instead of $350/4000. You see the difference?
This leads to…
3.) Making consistent payments is your absolute number 1 priority, which it looks like you have been doing. this is great and your credit thanks you. but if you can afford to pay it down to $0 right away, you definitely should. The agency ( bestbuy ) will continually report on time payments ( or current ) if it’s at $0, and you will be eligible for a credit increase sooner, and for a larger amount. You always should increase your potential credit limit, as long as its not within 6 mos. of a major purchase, as the more credit available to you, the better your utilization. In fact many people with 800+ scores have 8+ credit cards just so their utilization % can be as close to 0 as possible. Don’t take my word on it, look it up yourself!
Anyways the cliff notes is that it really doesn’t matter, but paying to zero and checking your credit report for accurate reporting is the best scenario, as it leads to ( marginally ) better credit down the road