Confused about when to pay off credit card?

savingsguy

Hi there,

This may seem like a silly question. I have a Nationwide credit card.

If I use the credit card do I need to pay it off at the end of the month or is it 30 days from use?

I always pay it off as soon as I can. I'd like to use it now and then pay it off over the next 30 days not right at the end of this month which would only give me 1.5 weeks.

It seems like it's only useful then to use at the beginning of the month if you want credit for a full month.

Thanks :-)
Fin

kuratowski

You will get a statement every month or so, and that statement shows the amount to pay by the due date (the due date is roughly 3 weeks after the statement date and 1 week before the next statement).  The best advice is to set up a direct debit and choose the "pay full statement balance" option, then you'll never be late or forget.

Due to the timing of the statement-payment cycle it's correct that the period of credit can be less than a month.

Ebe_Scrooge

As above, just pay it in full when the statement arrives - there's usually about 2-3 weeks between the statement arriving and payment being due.

You can pay it off before the statement arrives, but you then don't gain the benefit of building up a solid credit history, as it looks like you're not using the card.

Not sure why you want to pay it off over a period of 30 days.  Just spend on the card and pay the statement when it arrives.  The golden rule for credit cards is always "Never spend on it what you won't be able to pay off at the end of the month" ("month" here means the end of the billing cycle, not necessarily a calendar month).

[Deleted User]

The statement will tell you what you need to pay and by when e.g. I have a statement issued today for my card, I have to pay £x by 5th September. If I pay £x / 3 over 3 weeks, it would achieve the purpose of paying more than the minimum but isn't ideal. I pay off in full (or a fixed amount for the BT cards) to keep everything ticking over properly

savingsguy

Thanks all. I'll double check my statement to make sure I pay it off within their timelines.

born_again

Or set up a full balance DD and let them deal with it. You statement will give a date it will be taken.

surreysaver

Don't pay anything until they ask you to pay something, otherwise you can tie yourself up until all sorts of knots