There is a price for borrowing money. Aside from the annual membership fee, one of the most important things that you should consider is the interest. This is how the credit card issuer earns money. Understanding the different credits and debits that go in and out of your credit card statement is one of the skills that you need to be able to use your card wisely. Don’t just swipe, understand how your credit card works. Here is understanding your credit card statement part 3.
9. Interest Rate
The interest rate is the cost of borrowing money. The interest is applied only to your balance. Different cards have different interest rates. Card issuers use different calculations. Some credit cards issuers calculate it based on your average daily balance. Some use the balance on the beginning or the end of the cycle. You will need to read the fine print to understand how your credit card company calculates the interest.
TIP: You can avoid paying interests by paying the total amount due on each billing cycle.
10. Cash Advance Interest Rate
Aside from the cash advance fee, there is a separate interest for your cash advances. This is typically higher than the interest rate of your regular purchases.
TIP: Cash advance interest rate is not only higher than normal transactions, it is also automatically charged as soon as you withdraw the cash. Avoid this by using the cash advance feature of your credit card only when absolutely necessary.
11. Previous Balance
The previous balance pertains to your outstanding balance from the previous month’s statement. Interest starts the end of the beginning of the billing cycle if you have a previous balance.
For example if you have a 5,000 outstanding balance from the previous billing and you paid 4,000 last month. You will then have 1,000 balance at the end of the beginning of the current month cycle. This means the interest will be calculated on the 1,000 balance at the start of the billing cycle.
TIP: Always make it a point to have zero balance at the end of the beginning of the billing cycle so you don’t need to pay any interest.
12. Purchases and Advances
This pertains to all your credit card purchases and cash advances that falls within the billing cycle. The billing cycle is the period after the statement date from the previous month to the statement date of the current month.
TIP: Make sure to keep all your credit card receipts so you can verify the transactions in your credit card statement to avoid paying for double entries or purchases that you did not do.
13. Credits
Credits are any amount that the card company owes you. It could be price of something that you returned that you originally purchased using your credit card. It could be wrong entries or items that you did not actually purchase.In addition, it could also be credit card points that you redeemed in exchange for cash credits.
TIP: Be consciously aware of your purchases and if you are expecting credits into your account. Ensure that the correct amount has been credited.
14. Payments
Payments are the amount of money that you pay the credit card for your purchases. Any payment you made will reduce your outstanding balance.
TIP: Double-check all payments credited to your account to make sure it is the correct amount.
15. Interest Charge
This is the total amount of all the interests that were charged to your account. It is the sum total of the interests on purchases, cash advances and balance transfer.
TIP: Although you can avoid paying interests on purchases if you pay within the grace period; you cannot do the same with cash advances and balance transfers because they are automatically charged right after the transaction.
16. Late Charge
Late Charges are the amount that you need to pay as penalty for not paying at least the minimum amount due before the due date.
TIP: Avoid paying late charges by paying your dues on or before the payment due date.
Third Part of a Series. Click here to read Part 1.
First Published in Pinoy Smart Living on 04.06.2019
Feature Image by Alina Kuptsova from Pixabay
