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Hot take: I was paying my credit card bill all wrong for 5 years
So I had this moment last month when I was looking at my credit score and it hadn't moved in forever (stuck at like 690). I called Discover to ask why and the rep said "you're paying your balance down to zero every month right?" and I said yeah. She said that's actually not helping my utilization. I always thought paying it all off before the statement hit was the best move. Turns out letting a small balance post (like under 10%) then paying it off is better for your score. I felt so dumb lol. Has anyone else gotten bad advice like this from family or whatever?
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viola_garcia562d ago
The credit rep actually gave you slightly wrong info though. FICO scores look at both the statement balance and the balance on the day they pull your report, so paying it to zero before the statement hits can still be fine if your other cards show some usage.
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rose_clark812d ago
Hear you on that, @viola_garcia56... it's confusing when reps give different stories. I've gotten mixed info before too and it makes you wonder who to trust.
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