While most credit cards report your "statement date" balance to the three credit reporting agencies, Best Buy Reward Zone MasterCard reports the balance you're carrying on the last business day of the month. So, if you want that card to show a $0 balance on your credit reports, make sure you have no balance at month end.
I learned this the hard way on my own account. I made a couple purchases in the last week of September and paid them off in full on October 3, well before my October 12 payment due date. When I coincidentally pulled my Equifax credit report three days later (on October 6), I was amazed to see that card already reported... and showing my end of September balance.
As an experiment, I then made a purchase on October 23 and paid it off on October 28. I pulled my credit report again this morning (Nov. 7) and sure enough, it shows a zero balance for that card.
While I was at the MyFico site pulling the credit report, I read some of their forum posts for the first time and saw several that confirmed my "discovery": HSBC reports at month's end. (I should have read those posts last month! lol)
Evidently HSBC and US Bank are about the only ones that do report that way. (Orchard may as well, though I'm not 100% certain of that. Anybody know for sure?) Other card issuers report the balance you're carrying on your statement date.
Anyway... since so many of us on here are using the (HSBC) Best Buy Reward Zone MasterCard to rebuild, I thought it might be helpful to pass this info along.
Oh, by the way, my Fico score went up 12 points this month. Since the only thing different this time was the Best Buy card now reporting a $0 balance, I thought it might be helpful to pass that info along as well.
I learned this the hard way on my own account. I made a couple purchases in the last week of September and paid them off in full on October 3, well before my October 12 payment due date. When I coincidentally pulled my Equifax credit report three days later (on October 6), I was amazed to see that card already reported... and showing my end of September balance.
As an experiment, I then made a purchase on October 23 and paid it off on October 28. I pulled my credit report again this morning (Nov. 7) and sure enough, it shows a zero balance for that card.
While I was at the MyFico site pulling the credit report, I read some of their forum posts for the first time and saw several that confirmed my "discovery": HSBC reports at month's end. (I should have read those posts last month! lol)
Evidently HSBC and US Bank are about the only ones that do report that way. (Orchard may as well, though I'm not 100% certain of that. Anybody know for sure?) Other card issuers report the balance you're carrying on your statement date.
Anyway... since so many of us on here are using the (HSBC) Best Buy Reward Zone MasterCard to rebuild, I thought it might be helpful to pass this info along.
Oh, by the way, my Fico score went up 12 points this month. Since the only thing different this time was the Best Buy card now reporting a $0 balance, I thought it might be helpful to pass that info along as well.
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