Does paying off your credit card bill all at once crash your credit rating?

Carrying balances on credit cards does absolutely NOTHING extra for your credit. In fact, if you carry balances of more than 30% of your limit, it hurts your credit score. Pay off the balance and get an immediate score boost.

For some reason, bankers tend to give out the REALLY bad advice that you have to string out payments and pay interest to show something or other. But paying interest does nothing to improve your score. The best way to handle any credit card is to use it for regular purchases and pay the statement balance in full every month. That builds credit and avoids interest.

A credit score is based on a 12 month activity and goes up 5 to 10% per month providing you are paying on time. The balance should always be paid the following month to avoid paying interest added to the account. If you make a large purchase, then pay it off in 90 days and pay some interest.

I agree with everyone who told you to pay it off. There's absolutely no reason to pay interest if you don't need to!

You should NEVER carry a balance. It's best to pay in full, but don't pay before the statement prints. If you pay before your cycle closes, then “zero” may be reported to the credit bureau as your usage, which won't help your credit score at all. It sounds like you're past that point. But, once you pay this off and then start paying in full each month, just make sure that you wait for the statement to print.

It does not. Matter of fact, the people with the best credit scores generally pay their balances off in full each month, saving the interest charge.

If you can afford to pay off the balance at once, by all means do so!

Yes