When Should I Pay My Credit Card Bill?

You should pay your credit card bill by the due date listed on your monthly statement. Paying at least the minimum amount required by the due date keeps your account in good standing and is the key to building a good or excellent credit score, and paying in full lets you avoid interest charges. Setting up automatic payments can help ensure that you pay on time.

Key Things to Know About Paying Credit Card Bills

• If you are not carrying a balance from month to month, try to pay your full statement balance by your due date. This will prevent you from owing interest, and it will help your credit score.
• If you are carrying a balance, pay your credit card bill as soon as your monthly statement is available to save on interest.
• If your balance is above 30% of your credit limit, make an extra payment to bring your credit utilization below 30% before your statement closes. That will help your credit score.
• You should ideally pay a few days before your due date so you don’t end up being late if something goes wrong with your payment.
• Setting up autopay is the best way to never be late on a credit card payment, as long as you have enough money in your linked bank account.

Below, we’ll go more into depth on when you should make your credit card payments based on how you’re using your card.

When Are Credit Card Payments Due?

Credit card payments are due 21-25 days after the end of each monthly billing period. The exact day that lands on depends on your individual account and when you opened it. The good news is that you don’t have to guess or count to find out your due date. It’s listed prominently on the monthly bill you get from your credit card company.

This 21- to 25-day stretch between the end of a credit card’s billing period and the due date also serves as a grace period for your purchases. If you pay your monthly bill in full by your due date, you won’t owe any interest.

Credit card companies also may give you the option to select your own due date. This can allow you to place it right after you get your paycheck, so you can ensure that you have the money on hand.

How Do Credit Card Billing Cycles Work?

Credit card billing cycles last for 28 to 31 days, and your credit card’s issuer sends your bill and reports your account information to the credit bureaus on the last day of the billing cycle. Then, you’re responsible for making a payment by the due date, which is another 21-25 days later.

Credit Card Billing Cycle Steps

1. The billing cycle starts, and you’re free to make purchases and payments at any time.
2. After 28-31 days, the billing cycle ends. This is your “statement date,” when your monthly credit card statement gets generated.
3. Your card’s issuer sends you a billing statement that shows your balance as of the last day of the billing cycle. It will also list a minimum payment and a due date that’s 21-25 days after the day the billing cycle ended.
4. Your credit card company reports your account information to the credit bureaus on or shortly after the last day of your billing period. This includes information like your balance and whether you’re current on payments from previous billing cycles.
5. You must make at least the minimum payment required by your due date in order to avoid late fees. You must also pay in full by this date if you want to avoid interest, but that’s not mandatory.

Keep in mind that a new billing cycle starts as soon as the old one ends. In other words, during the 21- to 25-day period before your monthly due date, any new purchases that you make will count toward the next billing cycle and will appear on your next monthly statement.

You can learn more about the credit card payment timeline here on WalletHub.

When to Pay If You Are Not Carrying an Old Balance

If you are not currently carrying a balance from month to month on your credit card, making a payment any time between when your statement closes and your due date will keep your account in good standing. In other words, the credit card company will report you as “current” to the credit bureaus, which is good for your credit score, and you won’t owe any late fees.

But just paying on time isn’t always enough. Determining how much to pay is also important. Your credit card bill will list a statement balance and a minimum amount that you are required to pay each month.

• If you pay your full statement balance by the due date, then you will not carry a balance into the next billing period, and you won’t owe any interest on your purchases. This is what you should strive for.
• If you pay at least the minimum but less than the full statement balance, you will carry a balance into the next billing period and will start accruing interest at your card’s regular APR. In addition, you will lose your grace period on new purchases, which means that they will start to accrue interest right when you make them. Usually, it takes paying your full statement balance two months in a row to regain this grace period.

The above scenarios assume you haven’t already been carrying a balance from month to month. Next, let’s take a look at when you should pay if you have been carrying a balance.

When to Pay If You Are Carrying a Balance

If you’re carrying a credit card balance from month to month, paying your bill as soon as possible will save you money on interest. When you carry a balance between billing periods, you accrue interest every day. So the quicker you pay down the balance, the less interest you will accrue.

Key Things to Remember

• Extra payments: You can make extra payments any time you want, which will bring down your balance and reduce future interest.
• How to minimize interest: Pay off your full balance as soon as possible. You’ll always need to pay at least the minimum due each billing period, but paying in full is better for your wallet and your credit score.
• How to regain your grace period: Paying the card’s monthly bill in full for two consecutive months will reinstitute your account’s grace period. Instead of purchases beginning to accrue daily interest charges right after you make them, you will have a window between when your monthly statement becomes available and when your bill is due, during which you can pay with no interest.
• 0% APR credit cards: Carrying a balance isn’t a big deal on cards with 0% introductory APRs, since you won’t accrue interest for a period of time, as long as you pay at least the minimum each month. It can still raise your credit utilization ratio, but the money you save on interest will be well worth any temporary credit score damage. You should ideally pay off all or most of the balance by the time the introductory 0% APR ends.
• Helpful tools: Using a credit card payoff calculator is an easy way to plan out your monthly payments. You can calculate how much you’d have to pay each month to get debt-free by a certain date. Or, you can see how long it would take to pay off your balance and how much interest you’d owe if you make monthly payments of a certain amount.

When to Pay If Your Balance Is More Than 30% of Your Limit

Now we get into a slightly more complicated situation. If your balance is above 30% of your credit limit, you can still wait until you get your monthly statement and pay before your due date without owing interest. But that’s not the best situation for your credit score.

A credit utilization ratio above 30% can actually hurt your credit score, and your credit utilization is based on what your issuer reports to the credit bureaus monthly. In other words, if you have a balance that’s 30%+ of your credit limit on the day your monthly billing period ends, that’s what will be reported to the credit bureaus, even if you pay everything off in full before your due date. Therefore, it’s actually a good idea to make multiple payments during your billing cycle, so that when you receive your statement, your utilization is below 30%.

How to Keep Your Utilization Below 30%

1. Make purchases on your card like normal, but aim to only spend what you can afford to pay off.
2. If your balance exceeds 30% of your credit limit shortly before the end of your monthly billing period, pay at least some of the balance to bring it below that threshold. That way, the balance reported to the credit bureaus will be below 30% and help your credit score.
3. When you receive your statement, still strive to pay the entire statement balance by the due date.

Here’s a quick example. Let’s say your credit card has a credit limit of $1,000 and your billing period ends on the 30th of the month. If you charge $400 to the card and don’t make any payments before you receive your statement, your issuer will report 40% credit utilization to the credit bureaus.

But now let’s say on the 25th of the month you make a $200 payment. That means on the 30th, your issuer will only report a 20% credit utilization for the remaining $200, which will be much better for your credit score. Then, you can pay off the last $200 by your due date to avoid interest.

When Should I Pay My Credit Card Bill to Increase My Credit Score?

Paying your credit card bill on or before your due date can help increase your credit score because your credit card issuer will report your on-time payment to the credit bureaus. Paying on time is a crucial component in your credit score—arguably the most important factor.

How much you pay also plays a big role in your credit score. If you pay off your full balance each month, your score will improve more quickly than if you carry a balance from month to month.

In addition, credit utilization is important for your credit score, and using less than 30% of your credit limit is considered good. Your credit card issuer reports your credit utilization when your statement closes. So if your utilization exceeds 30% shortly before the date your statement closes, making an extra payment to bring it down below 30% can help your credit score.

Tips for Never Missing a Credit Card Payment

Set up automatic payments.

You can typically set up automatic payments online, through your issuer’s mobile app, or by calling customer service. This will ensure that your payment is always on time, provided that you have enough money to cover it in your linked bank account. You set it up to pay the minimum due, your full statement balance, or a custom amount.

Get notified.

If you prefer not to set up automatic payments, you can often set up notifications on your account to tell you when you receive your monthly statement and/or when your due date is coming up.

Put it on your calendar.

Mark down a specific date to pay your bill each month. That will remind you to pay and help you get into a routine.

Pay when you get your statement.

A good way to make sure that paying doesn’t slip your mind is to sit down and pay your bill right when you receive your monthly statement, assuming you have the money to do so at the time.

Create an emergency fund.

There may come a time when you are out of work or you have to spend your whole paycheck on unexpected expenses like car repairs or medical bills. Having an emergency fund to dip into can help you keep up with your credit card bills even during these times. We recommend having at least six months of expenses in your emergency fund, but anything you can build up is still helpful.

Change your due date.

If you find it difficult to make credit card payments because your due date is far away from when you get paid, consider asking your credit card company to change your monthly due date so that it falls shortly after you receive your paycheck instead.

Get budgeting help.

WalletHub’s budgeting tools can help you minimize unnecessary expenses and maximize your savings. You can also check out our helpful guide on how to make a budget.

Finally, you can learn more about paying credit card bills and never missing due dates here on WalletHub.