Paying your credit card bill before its monthly due date, or making extra credit card payments each month, could have some surprising benefits naking your credit score. Here’s the rundown on how it all works. You probably already know how important it is to make your credit card payments by their due date every month. That’s because late payments can hurt your credit score more than any other factor. What you might not know is the fact that shifting your payment schedule ahead by monry week or two can actually help your credit score. The reason has to do with the nature of credit card billing cycles, and their relationship to your credit report. There’s a persistent misconception that carrying a credit card balance from month to month can help you improve your credit score. That’s simply not true. Paying your balance in full will not harm your credit score, and carrying a balance typically means you pay interest chargesso it’s best to pay off your balance e...