Question about Tesco credit card

innocent_girl

Hi. This is my first credit card. I applied for it and got it ages ago but I still havent activated it. I think I was supposed to ring them when i received it so they could activate it. Can i still do this or is it too late?

Also the MAIN QUESTION is that if I bought somehing with it when do I have to pay it off by and pay no interest?
I've never had a credit card before so this is why im asking.
Thanks.

shop-to-drop

I would phone them up and ask. You are best to ask them about setting up a direct debit to pay the balance by due date then all you need to think about is making sure you have enough money in the account to cover it.

redpete

Activation - no idea, ring the activation number and see if it works.

Payment - each monthly statement gives the payment date for items on that statement. This is latest date that the minimum payment must be with them and the latest date by which your payment for the whole balance must be with them to avoid interest. The payment date is typically 24 days after the statement date (e.g. 16/10 statement requires payment by 10/11).

innocent_girl

I called them last night and the advisor said that if i purchased something now the payment deadline would be february next year. But I'm not sure because he had to go off the line a couple of times to ask someone so I dont know if he informed me correctly. I think I will phone them again.
Oh and he activated my card as well.

Tiexen

Have you got the pin number?

Ebe_Scrooge

innocent_girl wrote: »

I called them last night and the advisor said that if i purchased something now the payment deadline would be february next year.

That's wrong. As RedPete said, the payment date will typically be a couple of weeks after you receive the statement.

What the advisor *may* have been referring to is an interest free period - you sometimes get a 0% APR for the first 6 months or so to tempt you in. *IF* this is the case, then it would mean it reverts to the standard APR after February. But, irrespective, you absolutely MUST make AT LEAST the minimum payment by the due date each month. Safest is to set up a direct debit - ideally for the full amount ( to avoid paying any interest ), or at least the minimum if you can't manage the full amount. Miss a payment and you'll be hammered with fees, plus you'll get a black mark on your credit rating.

( You can do a sort of half-way house with payments - set up a DD for the minimum each month, then manually make additional payments if and when you can, to reduce the balance and hence the interest you'll pay ).

Credit cards can be a useful tool if you're sensible about them. Just don't look on them as a way of borrowing money you don't have - if you need to borrow money, get a personal loan from a reputable lender or your own bank, the interest rates will be a fraction of what a credit card charges.

innocent_girl

Theyre gonna send me a new pin.