When's it best to pay credit card bill?

Greenst

Not sure if this is a dumb question, but when is it best to pay a credit card bill? Is it best to wait till the end of the month and pay a lump off or pay in dribs and drabs over the month?

My friend gets paid weekly she has an outstanding balance on a CC and wants to pay it off but was wondering if it's best to pay weekly amounts on line or wait till the end of the month?

We were talking about it and are not sure how or when the CC companies tend to calculate interest so when would making a payment make the best of paying off the balance.

Does that make sense??!!!

squack

paying off as much as you can, as soon as you can is the best way to minimise the interest. even if its just in dribs and drabs via the internet

OllyM

Interest is calculated daily, so the sooner you make a payment the less interest you'll pay.

blacksta

Pay Pay Pay Pay , anytime before the due date.

Tremour-88

Always pay AFTER you recieve your statement, the day you recieve it would be best to avoid unwanted interest.

You should setup a DirectDebit for the min. at the least to avoid late payment/missed payment charges then pay w/e extra you can each month

missie89

Tremour-88 wrote: »

Always pay AFTER you recieve your statement, the day you recieve it would be best to avoid unwanted interest

If I pay by debit card 2-3 days before the statement is due (allowing the few days for it to go through) how can I be sure it doesn't get paid before the statement comes?

Is it an absolute no-no to pay before receiving a statement?

Also I have 'up to' 55 days interest free, would this only run up til the statement date?

chattychappy

Tremour-88 wrote: »

You should setup a DirectDebit for the min. at the least to avoid late payment/missed payment charges then pay w/e extra you can each month

Disagree with this. If the OP maintains a DD then (s)he will have to have the amount of the minimum payment hanging around in the current account awaiting the payment date when it would be better applied to the outstanding balance asap. Whilst a DD might save you if you would otherwise "forget" to make the payment, it's double trouble if when the payment is due to be taken there are insufficient funds. (Charges on both the CC and the current account, with possibly two reports to CRAs.) A further point is that the interaction between DDs and manual payments can be complicated and varies from card to card. So I would certainly NOT sign a DD in this case. The OP must ensure that the total amount of payments made (by any means) received between the day after the statement date and the "due by" date equal or exceed the minimum demanded. So agree with the "pay as much as you can as soon as you can" rule, the only exception being that you mustn't pay so much that you will leave yourself short and unable to pay enough during the following cycle.

bengal-stripe

missie89 wrote: »

If I pay by debit card 2-3 days before the statement is due (allowing the few days for it to go through) how can I be sure it doesn't get paid before the statement comes?

Is it an absolute no-no to pay before receiving a statement?

Also I have 'up to' 55 days interest free, would this only run up til the statement date?

You only have 'up to 55 days interest-free' if you regularly pay the balance in full. If you carry debt over, you will be charged interest for every day you have a balance. Therefore it saves you interest to keep the balance low and pay early. If you pay in full, it would be your advantage to pay late and keep the money in an interest-paying account until needed.

You can pay before you physically receive your statement (in the mail) but you should not pay before it got compiled (and is available on-line). If you pay a purchase before the statement date, in that particular month, your card balance will be zero. If you do that regularly, it will look as you were not using your card at all and just keep it in the drawer. If you apply for credit elsewhere, the new lender will think about issuing a card as it looks, that you haven't used your current card at all.

missie89

Thankyou Bengal stripe, you've made that a lot clearer for me. I'll always be clearing the balance on full each month, so nothing will be carried over. I guess I'm free to make use of the grace period instead of stressing over when I'm meant to pay! Thanks again