Stupid question about a credit card (Capital one, platinum)

DebbieZed

Hi all, stupid question altert

I've never had a credit card before but I needed one to pay for a course. I regret making such a rash decision without any research but here I am.

I have the capital 1 platinum card, with a £200 limit. I used £199 of it about 3 weeks. Today I rang up and paid £80 on it.

I'm just wondering how much will I need to pay next month to pay the whole thing off? I thought interest was 30% ish, hence why I paid £80 (I thought I was just paying off a little more than the interest). Capital one man seemed to think my interest wasn't that high? And in fact a few percent? And the 30+% was yearly interest?

I have honestly tried googling this but I can't find (or maybe understand) a solid answer.

I really just want to pay this off ASAP.

Any help highly appreciated.

bargainbetty

You will receive a bill detailing everything, including how much you have paid in interest (it won't be a third of the amount borrowed).

Without knowing if you have an interest free period, the interest rate, dates you spent and date you paid, it's hard to say.

You coudl call them and ask your outstanding balance, and how much interest is due on the next statement date.

Robin9

To pay no interest - when you get your statement pay the full amount ie £119

Ebe_Scrooge

The APR is the yearly interest, so it's roughly one twelfth of that per month. If you want to pay it off, just wait for the statement and pay the full amount. If you pay the full amount each month then you won't be charged any interest.

grumbler

DebbieZed wrote: »

I have the capital 1 platinum card, with a £200 limit. I used £199 of it about 3 weeks. Today I rang up and paid £80 on it.

I'm just wondering how much will I need to pay next month to pay the whole thing off?

£199-£80=£119.

I thought interest was 30% ish, hence why I paid £80 (I thought I was just paying off a little more than the interest).

I guess 30% is the yearly interest. The monthly one is about 2.2%. And it's waived if the card is used for purchases only and the balance is paid in full and in time every month. Otherwise you get charged the daily interest on each transaction from it's date until paid off.

DebbieZed

Thanks for your help guys

I have rang but the capital one guy seemed just as unsure as me

I can't seem to get access to my online account to see statements either.

I won't be able to pay it off until October, and I borrowed the money august 22nd, so I'm assuming I'll have interest? Just the general census is that it isn't 30+%?

I feel very silly asking all this, trust me!

DebbieZed

grumbler wrote: »

£199-£80=£119.
I guess 30% is the yearly interest. The monthly one is about 2.2%. And it's waived if the card is used for purchases only and the balance is paid in full and in time every month.

2.2%?!? I've been worrying myself sick thinking I'll be paying 70+ a month and still not getting rid of the initial debt! I was working out that two months of not paying it off in full, would mean around a £350 debt to pay by october!!

bengal-stripe

DebbieZed wrote: »

I'm just wondering how much will I need to pay next month to pay the whole thing off?........And the 30+% was yearly interest?

The 30+% interest is per annum not per month.

Has your first statement been issued yet? If you pay that in full, then no interest is due. If your payment of £80 has hit your account before the first statement, your balance will be something like £119: if you pay that before the due date (some 2 or 3 weeks later) there will be no additional interest. If you continue to pay in full every month without fail, then you will never pay interest.

This presumes that your entire spending is "purchases". "Cash-advances" do not have that interest free period.

DebbieZed

bengal-stripe wrote: »

The 30+% interest is per annum not per month.

Has your first statement been issued yet? If you pay that in full, then no interest is due. If your payment of £80 has hit your account before the first statement, your balance will be something like £119: if you pay that before the due date (some 2 or 3 weeks later) there will be no additional interest. If you continue to pay in full every month without fail, then you will never pay interest.

This presumes that your entire spending is "purchases". "Cash-advances" do not have that interest free period.

Hi, thanks for your reply! I think my first statement is due in a few days, and I won't be able to pay it off then. So next months will be less than £150 to pay it off in full we're assuming?

The only thing I used it for was to pay for a course online, no cash withdrawals or anything like that. And I don't think I'll ever use it again! Seriously been worried sick about this all. I may come across as niave, but I've just finished a degree (in science!) and I'm pretty dissapointed that I'm so clueless about what I've got myself into! Major regret.

mcpitman

Hullo, stop panicking!

It is a scary thing to understand but once you're there you will be ok.

Right 30% APR per annum (as already stated) is about 2.5% interest per month.

If you have just paid £80 off a £200 balance and this is accumulating interest your next statement amount will be approximately £123.

If you are in some form of interest free period (usually 56 days or roughly 2 months) your next statement amount will be £120.

If you are paying interest, pay it off as soon as possible.

If you are not paying interest, still pay it off as soon as possible, so you don't pay any interest.

So in answer to your question, your next statement should be under £150 to pay off in full (Approx £123).

DebbieZed

mcpitman wrote: »

Hullo, stop panicking!

It is a scary thing to understand but once you're there you will be ok.

Right 30% APR per annum (as already stated) is about 2.5% interest per month.

If you have just paid £80 off a £200 balance and this is accumulating interest your next statement amount will be approximately £123.

If you are in some form of interest free period (usually 56 days or roughly 2 months) your next statement amount will be £120.

If you are paying interest, pay it off as soon as possible.

If you are not paying interest, still pay it off as soon as possible, so you don't pay any interest.

So in answer to your question, your next statement should be under £150 to pay off in full (Approx £123).

That is such a weight of my mind!! Thanks so much to you and everyone