Confusing Tesco credit card statement

Mallowmarshmallow

I am not overly familiar with credit cards and how they work, I only have one, a Tesco one which I pay off in full every month.

Their payment schedule seems particularly confusing; it shows an amount which is different to the amount I pay. I once phoned and asked about the schedule and the explanation was something about there being an amount to pay then the amount that has been spent in between the statement and payment dates.

I don't consider myself unintelligent but it is so confusing.

So, my question is, is this how all credit cards work? Or is Tesco particularly confusing? If so, I'm changing to save me spending valuable energy trying to decipher the statements!

YorkshireBoy

All credit cards work this way.

It's the spend you make up to your statement date that needs paying on the next payment due date.

Anything spent after the statement date becomes payable on the following statement date's payment due date.

bigadaj

Probably best to quite an example as its not clear what your having problems with.

You have a balance on your card which obviously changes as you use it, however there is a cut off date every month when all the transactions are recorded on your statement, and this is the balance due by the date, typically three weeks or so after the statement date. Paying this a few days before the due date will clear the card and mean you don't pay interest, alternatively just set up a direct debit and it will be done automatically, just check your statements to confirm the transactions are correct and make sure you have enough funds in your account for the direct debit. Don't pay off before the statement date as you aren't benefitting from ten interest free period and maybe more importantly it could look as though you're not using the card as you're paying it before the statement is generated.

If you're carrying a balance and paying minimum or partial then the answer could be different.

redpete

There is a number giving how much you spent during the statement period and one amount that is how much you need to pay. They can differ if your previous payment was more or less than you needed to pay last month.

AnotherJoe

Lets say your cut off date is today.
Up til now, you have spent, say £1,000.
That's what your statement will say is your payment.
Your payment however isn't due for, say another 3 weeks.
In those 3 weeks you might spend, say another £500 on the card.
So if you look online in 3 weeks you'll see you now owe £1,500.
But you dont need to pay the extra £500 as thats after the cut off date and falls into next months payment.
So you just pay the £1,000.

As said, all credit cards work this way.

7roland8

I know this is a late post but I also find them confusing. Going online none fo the total figures seem to correspond to what I make it. The entries are correct but I think its just their weird way of showing things - never had this problem with other cards.
I give up now and will just pay when I get the paper statement - seems easier that way!