Natwest Student Credit Card - Question

mannaroth

"Interest-free period every month

If you pay your balance (and your previous month's balance) in full and on time each month you'll enjoy up to 56 days' interest free credit on all purchases. Typical 18.9% APR (variable)."


Could someone explain to me exactly what this means? I don't understand what it means by pay your balance off in full each month; surely that would mean there would be nothing to charge interest on anyway? Does the 56 days interest free thing mean for example I could buy something now and pay nothing at all until the 56 days is up?

williham

If you buy something just after a statement has been generated then you won't have to actually pay it off until around 56 days later.

1st December - Statement generated
2nd December - Spend £100
1st January - statement generated - £100 to pay by 26th January
26th January - pay £100

Assuming there was no balance on the 1st December statement you would not pay any interest and get around 56 days interest free credit in effect.

CLAPTON

credit cards work this way

you pay interest from the time you spend until the time to pay the debt off.
the interest accrues on a daily basis and applies to purchase only (i.e. not cash withdrawals).

however, if you pay in full each and every month, they then don't charge interest and so they say you can have up to 56 days interest free credit.

so if you pay less than the full amount even by a penny or so then you are charged interest as described above.... people often don't understand this.

mannaroth

Thanks, that makes a lot more sense now. Didn't realise that the statement for the funds spent this month wouldn't appear until the 1st of the next month. Cheers

CLAPTON

mannaroth wrote: »

Thanks, that makes a lot more sense now. Didn't realise that the statement for the funds spent this month wouldn't appear until the 1st of the next month. Cheers

The spending will appear on your next statement date which will not in general be the 1st... the poster merely used the 1st as an example.

williham

Yeah sorry, was just using the 1st as an example, this should be replaced with the date your statement is actually generated.