Small Interest Charges

[selena]

I have a question about interest. I've never really paid attention to statement closing dates and such until now and I'm trying to learn because I can pay a balance in full then recieve a statement saying I still owe a few dollars (which I know is because of interest) and I'm trying to get into a better habit of knowing those dates. If I carry a balance for a few months and then pay the balance in full before the statement closing date, will I still pay interest on the next statement? Is the interest based on the entire balance as a whole or does it apply to each individual purchase?

[takeshi74]

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@selena wrote:

If I carry a balance for a few months and then pay the balance in full before the statement closing date, will I still pay interest on the next statement?

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Yup.  If you have been carrying a balance then even after you pay in full you will have to address the residual interest.  Keep in mind that you generally lose your grace period on new purchases when carrying a balance.

[DeeBee78]

If you're paying interest on balances, even though you've paid them in full, your card has no grace period. 

I'm guessing you're using a rebuilder card that starts accruing interest as soon as the transaction posts. 

[Anonymous]

If you've previously revolved a balance and then pay the entire "new balance" you will see a small residual or trailing finance charge from the portion that was not PIF previously. In most cases, when a balance becomes "subject to interest" the finance charges are calculated for each day that you're revolving it. Unless you call your CCC and ask for a payoff amount to clear the entire balance, you'll need to pay the "new balance" in full for two consecutive billing cycles before you regain your purchse grace period. 

[selena]

Thanks for the info everyone. I was wondering if I could call for a payoff amount so I'll do that next time I need to do so. I'm not using a rebuilding card, I just simply carry balances a few of my cards, while some of the others I pay in full.

[noobody]

I would just pay the entire balance PLUS the interest charge on the current bill, this way I would slightly overpay depend on the date of the payment, and leave a credit balance, assume no new charge has been made.