Credit Card Newbie Question

ScottyD

Hi,

I just want to start off by saying I'm new with Credit Cards and even I realise the question I'm about to ask is probably simple, obvious and silly. Also sorry for how long this is ...

Now I got a credit card last year and have basically used it for online purchases which I would pay off online immediately. I now have a larger than normal purchase to make where I can't do this, so I wanted to run a scenario by some people who know a lot about this.

I have a BOS platinum credit card that has the 56 day interest free period for purchases. So say I purchase something costing £400, my credit card totally balanced before this, and from the day I make the purchase 40 days pass and I pay the minimum payment twice and on the 50th day I pay the entire amount off would I incur any fees/interest?

If I understand things correctly, which I probably don't, I shouldn't be charged any fees or interest at all. The minimum payment I think is supposed to prevent you being charged fees and by paying the entire amount on the 50th day I haven't passed the 56 day interest free period so I should be fine.

I know very little about this kind of thing so if I'm wrong I'd appreciate someone explaining or if it seems like I've missed anything please set me straight. Thanks!

YorkshireBoy

Your card doesn't have 56 days interest free...it has up to 56 days interest free.

The only way you'll get 56 days is to make your purchase on your statement date (or possibly the day before, because there's normally a 1-2 day lag between transaction date and posting date).

ScottyD

Thanks you for replying so quickly.

My statement date is the 6th of the month with payments due a few days earlier, so if I were to do this tomorrow I would have 56 days from the 6th of March before I would be charged interest? (Sorry, I know I'm being dense but I need to make sure)

So assuming I've not misunderstood I would be interest free as long as I paid the full amount before the 1st of May (a few days before even to account of the lag). I wouldn't incur any fees if I paid the minimum payment for April either unless I was wrong about that as well.

If anyone spots anything wrong with this point please tell me. Thanks.

Hominu

You will not pay any fees or charges as long as you paid off the full balance of your statement by the due date on the statement.

If your statement balance comes in at £400 and you pay £100, you will be charged interest on £400. You'll only get fees if you fail to make at least the minimum payment before the due date specified on the statement.

and remember, the due date is the date they want the cash, not the date you send the cash, so could be 2 days earlier, depending on the due date (for example, a due date of Sunday may need to be settled on Friday by 4pm or so as the following Monday may be considered late - check your T&Cs)

[Deleted User]

You will need to pay the full balance by the due date specifed on your April statement. There isn't an additional due date before then for which you could only make minimum payment.

ScottyD

Thanks for the replies.

I think I know where I was going wrong. It doesn't help that from day one I've been doing online banking and I never look at the statement or given any of it a thought. I buy something I immediately log in and pay it off. I'll give this another shot to see if I've got it.

I had read something about the 56 days interest earlier which confused me. If I've finally got then if I made a £400 purchase tomorrow and on the 6th of April checked my statement and paid the full amount (a few days) before the next due date specified on the statement (guessing by the pattern would be Wednesday 1st May) I would be charged no interest or fees right?

I think I get the 56 days part, as if I made the purchase tomorrow it would count from the 6th of March and my next statement would show it requiring payment within 56 days from then before interest is charged, which is roughly when I'm estimating my next due date is; the 1st of May.

I'm hoping I've finally got it considering how basic this is. If not, hopefully I'm not far. Thanks to all for the help!