Yes, if you pay your credit card early, you can use it again. You can use a credit card whenever there’s enough credit available to complete a purchase. Your available credit decreases by the amount of any purchase you make and increases by the amount of any payment. So paying your credit card bill early (and often) can help you avoid maxing out your spending limit and having a purchase get declined. It will also reduce your credit utilization, which is good for your credit score. And it will save you a lot of money on interest. Let’s do a quick example.
Imagine your credit line is $1,000, and you make a $300 purchase. Your available credit goes down from $1,000 to $700. You could make up to $700 more in purchases at this point. But that wouldn’t be the best idea because using more than 30%of your credit line can hurt your credit. That’s where paying your bill early comes in. You have the right to make a credit card payment at any time. So if you were to pay off the $300 you spent, without spending any more, your available creditwould go back to $1,000.
Now, it’s important to think about the schedule for credit card payments. Once your billing cycle closes, there is usually a grace period of 21 days or more until your due date, during which you can pay off your purchases without incurring interest.
You’re completely allowed to use your credit card during the grace period. Any purchases you make after your closing date are part of the next billing cycle, not the current one. But if you don’t pay the full balance listed on your statement, you’ll lose the grace period. That means you won’t get 21+ days between the close of your next billing cycle and your due date before interest kicks in. It will start accruing right away.
Long story short, paying your credit card early will let you use it again, assuming you have little-to-no available credit to start with. It can also improve your credit utilization. Just make sure you remember to pay your full statement balance by the due date, or else you may rack up some interest charges.
This answer was first published on 01/21/18 and it was last updated on 01/24/20. For the most current information about a financial product, you should always check and confirm accuracy with the offering financial institution. Editorial and user-generated content is not provided, reviewed or endorsed by any company.
