What the hell? I get charge for having ZERO BALANCE from Citi AA Bronze

[Anonymous]

I am shocked. I just check my statement online and saw $2.06 of interest charge to my account for having ZERO Balance. I dont understand it..Kinda pissed me off..Anyone have any idea why this happen?

[Uborrow-Upay]

Yes.  You probably had a balance for the previous billing period that wasn't paid in full.  So even if you paid this statement off right after it cut, there was a small amount of interest due on the balance that you hadn't paid in full prior to that.

Clear as mud, right? 

I know I'm probably not saying this the way I mean to explain it...it's confusing me right now!  Here's how that happened to me.

I got an offer for a new credit card with a special rate for quite a while if I transferred a balance to it with the application at no fee, just a little APR.  So I did.  I didn't use the card for anything else until that balance was paid shortly after the statement cut. I paid that balance, plus that month's interest, to zero.  Thought I was paid up altogether.  But the next month, I get a statement showing I owed some little amount (like $1.26 or something), and that was for the days before I made the payment in full.  I still had the money, so to speak, so I got whacked interest for the days after the statement cut, but before I'd paid.

Did I do better explaining this the second time around?  LOL. 

Actually, now this makes the third time I changed/added to this reply.  It's been another long day, sorry!

Message Edited by Uborrow-Upay on 02-12-2010 10:09 PM

[Anonymous]

Uborrow: LoL you did a great job explaining it, I clearly understand it. By the way, I did call in and they told me the same thing as you did. So I took a chance to ask for the interest charge remove or i'll close the account so the csr transferred me to the retention department. The person I spoke too offer me this. 1. In the next three months charge at least $500 to the account and get a $25 bonus credit back 2. or get 3,000 bonus miles to my AA frequent flier. Of course, I choose the $25 bonus credit better ..I guess they want my business and dont want me to close the account. So I told them, okay I keep the account open but as long as you credit back the $2.06 interest charge back off my account...So I guess one call does it all.. =)

[Uborrow-Upay]

That's great, CreditCard101! 

Glad it all worked out, and thanks for letting me off the hook! 

[Anonymous]