halifax one card 59days interest free? whats this mean

skylineboy2002

im a newbie to credit cards... only really got one for if a need to borrow small amounts and have so far not used it for more than £300 and for the internet shopping sites that dont take debits... its good for 0% for 9 months too...

on the bill i just got it tells me when the free 0% runs out etc and then its says interest free on purchases for 59 days... what does this mean.. i get a bill every month?

sorry if its a stupid question but like my mum says, you dont ask you dont know...

cheers..

MPH80

The way it works is that you given a bill on a set date each month.

On that bill is are two amounts to pay - one is the minimum amount the card company require (normally 2-3% of the balance) and the other is the full amount owing on the card. Providing you pay that amount off IN FULL before the date specified on the bill - then you will be charged no interest on the purchases.

However, if you fail to pay the bill in full - you will be charged interest on all purchases from the transaction date until the money is recieved. This interest will then appear on the next bill.

As such - you must pay the bill in full two months in a row in order to get the 0% for 59 days.

However, just to be clear - once a bill has been printed - any amounts you put on the card after that date are not payable until the next billing date.

To give you an example - my American Express card printed the bill on the 6th of March - so I bought some things today - and I won't be told I have to pay for them until the 6th of April - and the deadline for payment won't be until the 22nd of April - giving me lots of interest free time.

Finally - the best thing to do is set up a direct debit - preferably for the full balance - but at the very least for the minimum payment on the card. This will ensure that you are never late with the minimum payment.

M.

Milarky

I concur with MPH80 about setting up a direct debit (in your case for the minimum payment until the nine months are up.)

What you've got to watch out with Halifax is that they don't produce a statement on a fixed date in the month - it moves around a bit back and forth. Their '59 days' looks like it is '56 days' in practice (i.e. they give you 25 days from the statement date to receive their payment) but by allowing the statement dates to drift they cause periods of up to 32 days between statements (etc).

So setting a DD up to collect the payments is a particularly good idea where the dates themselves move around a lot.

skylineboy2002

thanks guys... i think the example given makes sense...

if only credit card statements have a jargon buster type page included...

im ok with paying it off for now as its got months of free spending left.. but i check my online banking at least twice a week so i always know when to have any payments (minimum or as much as i prefer) paid in time..

again thanks

DAN

Kilty_2

Off topic, but I don't really think it warrants a new thread.

Are these cards Visa or MasterCard? The reason I ask is that all of the posters in my local branch show them to be Visa cards yet the images on the Halifax website show MasterCard

skylineboy2002

Kilty wrote: »

Off topic, but I don't really think it warrants a new thread.

Are these cards Visa or MasterCard? The reason I ask is that all of the posters in my local branch show them to be Visa cards yet the images on the Halifax website show MasterCard

MasterCard

regularsaver1

Some people receive Visa card, and some mastercard, although they are in the process of changing all and existing cards to mastercard

skylineboy2002

dont suppose it matters (does it?)

visa and mastercard are always accepted together.. never seen a place that says VISA only or vice versa

Kilty_2

It doesn't really matter but I'm wondering if this means Halifax are going to go the same route with their debit cards which wouldn't be good...

King_Of_Fools

Kilty wrote: »

It doesn't really matter but I'm wondering if this means Halifax are going to go the same route with their debit cards which wouldn't be good...

The moved away from Mastercard (Maestro) a year or so ago to Visa Debit cards (I guess because Visa were offering better terms). I doubt they will be moving back any time soon.

Kilty_2

Only reason I asked is that most banks issue the same type of debit and credit card ie Clydesdale Bank issue Maestro and MasterCard, Nationwide Visa Debit and Visa.