New Credit Card

xlnc99

I just a new credit card - first time in a long time ive got a new one.

I remember when you get a new credit card you usually dont make the first payment for a while (i cant remember how long it is usually) and you also are not usually charged interest for a while.

Does anyone know how long each of these are?

Thanks

[Deleted User]

You first statement will be generated within a month of account opening and payment due date will be a couple of weeks or so after that, depending on the card.

Interest accrues on a daily basis, but is waived if you pay in full. 

blue.peter

I think that it's normally 25 days between statement date and payment due date, rather than " a couple of weeks or so". It's certainly 25 days for most of mine, but it does vary a little between card issuers. My only exception to the 25-day rule is Virgin. They only give 20 days.

If you want to know when your statement date is, you can phone the issuer and ask them. They'll also probably be willing to change it if you ask. I like to have my statements issued on around the 20th of the month, so that I get them a few days before I'm paid (end of the month) and have a few days after I'm paid before I have to pay my credit card bill. Nobody's refused to accommodate me yet.

Example (MBNA):

Statement dated 21 March;

My pay day: 31 March

Card payment due: 15 April.

The oddity here is American Express. My payment dues date is 13 April, but they collect my DD payment on 2 April. I'd get the extra 11 days to pay if I made manual payments rather than used a DD.

xlnc99

Thanks guys
This makes sense, i understand how this works for credit card.

My question was really for the first payment, as i remember the first payment of a new card is usually a bit later then normal

eskbanker

xlnc99 said:

My question was really for the first payment, as i remember the first payment of a new card is usually a bit later then normal

No, the gap between statement date and payment due date will be the same, regardless of whether it's the first statement or a subsequent one.

Nebulous2

Date of first statement may be sooner than you expect, rather than later. We've seen people on here say they have had  a statement 14 days after receiving their card. 

As said above you can check with them.

jay1804

It depends with the card issuer, normally when I get a new card I ask them for the statement and payment date - these are key factors that I like to know, before putting transactions on the card.

dr_adidas01

Nebulous2 said:

Date of first statement may be sooner than you expect, rather than later. We've seen people on here say they have had  a statement 14 days after receiving their card. 

As said above you can check with them.

Yes I remember BarclayCard doing this when I got mine quite a while back.

Alex9384

blue.peter said:

The oddity here is American Express. My payment dues date is 13 April, but they collect my DD payment on 2 April. I'd get the extra 11 days to pay if I made manual payments rather than used a DD.

I find the Amex thing pretty useful.
Firstly, if you set up a new direct debit with bank such as NatWest, you can't see that direct debit until it is paid out for the first time. In case the DD has not been set up yet, you can see it didn't go out on 2nd April and you still have the extra 11 days to pay manually. With other providers that would be a missed payment...
Secondly, you can set up a minimum payment for Amex and then pay the rest of the bill manually. This is useful if you need both, the direct debit (for some current account perks) and spending on a debit card, let's say Halifax Reward. So the minimum DD is taken by Amex, then you pay the rest with your Halifax debit card and you still aren't late.

Alex9384

Actually, the second thing can be done with other credit cards too, but I'd prefer Amex as you can actually pay the full amount before the due date.