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I will preface with I have a very bad sense about these sorts of things. When is it a good idea to pay off a credit card balance before the end of a cycle?

For example a statement period is Apr 13 to May 12, 2021 and the minimum payment is due by June 9th. Say I check the balance on April 30 and see its $1500. I always have the money before purchasing something with a credit card. Would it be a good or bad thing to pay the $1500 on April 30? Would it count towards whatever the minimum payment would be at the end of the cycle? In other words could I not have to pay a minimum amount on June 9th if I paid enough on April 30th?

I heard a potential downside is if the money could have been in my savings account it would have been making me interest if I hadn't paid the credit card so soon. Is this valid reasoning?

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  • This is very likely going to be a duplicate. (But I don't have the time to find the link right now.) But the answer is if you pay early it will apply to your next statement (so no payment will be due). And interest on savings for a week or two is negligible for low amounts and low interest rates.
    – TTT
    Commented Aug 1, 2021 at 21:56
  • Stop caring whether you earned 5 cents less interest than you could have in any given month. You'll be happier in the long run.
    – chepner
    Commented Aug 1, 2021 at 22:07
  • Does this answer your question? Assuming you already have the money, how to tell when/which day of the month to pay off credit card balance?
    – shoover
    Commented Aug 1, 2021 at 23:31
  • 3
    More than that, the duplicate is the same OP.
    – JTP - Apologise to Monica ♦
    Commented Aug 2, 2021 at 1:19
  • From the credit card's perspective, it doesn't matter. Make at least the minimum payment by the due date shown, stay below your credit limit, and you will never have any issues. From your perspective, do everything in your power to avoid paying interest, ever. Pay it in full by the due date, period. As far as I know there is no penalty for paying multiple times before a due date; the CC company wants their money, period. However you wish to space this out is based on your budgeting skills and due date comfort levels.
    – MonkeyZeus
    Commented Aug 2, 2021 at 19:04

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Would it be a good or bad thing to pay the $1500 on April 30?

I think it's a Very Good Thing, because you would be paying for April's purchases with April's money. That makes budgeting very easy.

As an example: I pay my CC bill on the last day of the month, as well as every Sunday evening (today being an exception because it's so early in the new month).

Would it count towards whatever the minimum payment would be at the end of the cycle?

Yes.

In other words could I not have to pay a minimum amount on June 9th if I paid enough on April 30th?

Correct.

Bottom line: June 9th is not the only day you can pay your bill; it's just the last day to pay your bill without incurring interest charges.

I heard a potential downside is if the money could have been in my savings account it would have been making me interest if I hadn't paid the credit card so soon. Is this valid reasoning?

It's technically correct, but the interest rates on savings accounts are so low that it's not materially relevant. IMNSHO, the convenience of paying at EOM greatly outweighs those few earned pennies.

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