No matter how much you choose to pay, as long as you make your payment on time (and pay at least the minimum), you’re doing exactly what your credit card issuer requires. However, multiple credit card payments in the same billing cycle benefit your credit score in some circumstances. It’s not the number of payments you make that helps your credit score, but rather the impact on your credit card balance and, more specifically, your credit limit.
Understanding Credit Utilization
You may already know that a large part of your credit score is based on your credit utilization—the ratio of your credit card balance to its credit limit. The lower your balance is relative to the credit limit, the better it is for your credit score. You can control the balance that’s reported to the credit bureaus by sending multiple credit card payments. It means that more of your balance is paid off by the time your billing cycle ends, thus lowering your credit utilization and improving your credit score. It can be especially helpful to make multiple credit card payments if you’re a big spender. Spreading your payments between paychecks can keep your bank account more level throughout the month as opposed to dropping a large lump sum on your credit card balance all at once.
The Best Payment Method
Thanks to electronic payments, it’s pretty easy to make multiple credit card payments. You can make a payment online or over the phone using your checking account. With either method, your payment will post to your account within a few business days. Some credit cards linked to a checking account may post on the same day. Mailing your extra payments works, but it will take longer for the payment to post since you have to wait for the mail to arrive at your credit card issuer. If you decide to make multiple credit card payments, make sure you have a goal. Are you trying to keep your balance at 30% of the credit limit? Are you trying to be sure a $0 balance is reported to the credit bureaus? Make sure you continue to stick to your budget even when you’re sending more than one credit card payment, especially if you’re doing this with more than one credit card. The plan could backfire if you’re spending too much money trying to keep your credit card balance low.
Other Benefits of Multiple Payments
While improving your credit score might be the primary goal of making multiple credit card payments, there’s another benefit. Depending on how your credit card issuer calculates your finance charge, you may save interest by sending more than one credit card payment throughout the month. For example, with the average daily balance method, you’ll pay a lower finance charge by sending a payment earlier in the billing cycle. Reducing your balance earlier in the billing cycle frees up additional credit, and gives you more freedom to spend. It is helpful if you have a low credit limit, if you’re planning a large purchase, or if you want to rack up additional rewards on your credit card. If you’re trying to earn a signup bonus, for example, multiple credit card payments may be necessary so you can make enough purchases to meet the spending requirements for the bonus.
