Credit Card

[Kathyan]

I took out a credit card in July and bought a few things with it but have paid them off. The statement is due to be generated on the 16th August. If I buy something now but don't pay it off before the statement is due, will I be charged interest on it?

[bookbinder]

Your 'now' purchase will probably appear on the next statement.

[jamesnan]

My credit card bill usually comes in about 24th of each month, and anything which is purchased up to about 20th is carried over on to the next month. If it is paid in full, by the due date then no interest will be paid.

[bhg481]

On the 16th August your Credit Card issuer will send you a statement detailing all your recent purchases and payments; it will also show you the net amount you owe them and when it has to be paid by (probably early September). If you make that payment before the date specified you will not pay any interest.

[gingejbee]

The normal way of using a credit card is to make purchases but only pay when the bill is generated and you receive it...if you pay the full due amount by the payment date (usually about three weeks after receiving the bill), there is no interest charged.
I really don't see the point of paying anything until the bill arrives.

[Kathyan]

Thanks all. It's just that I have a bill to pay by 17th and I can't afford it until 25th, so I wanted to use the card as an emergency funding. I'll use the card then and wait for the bill and then pay it off.

[bhg481]

I should have added - if you don't pay off the whole amount you will pay interest on the whole amount, not just the amount left owing. In other words, if the statement says you owe £100 and you pay off £90, you will be charged interest on £100, NOT £10.

[bhg481]

Kath - what you propose will cost you nothing, provided you pay the full amount when you get your next statement.

[Kathyan]

Thanks bhg, that's what I wanted to know.

[gingejbee]

bhg @ 14.29...that's not how my credit card works. Interest is charged on the outstanding balance only....having said that, I've never paid any interest in all the decades I've had a credit card.

[ummmm]

I thought that too, Ginge.

[bhg481]

gingejbee - are you sure? They all used to work like that but they started to change them many years ago. If you always pay off the whole amount (as I do) you may not have noticed. I fell for it in days long-ago when I sometimes used to leave some over and was nobbled by the interest; I complained and they gave me back the extra interest on a "one-time-only" basis.