topic Re: Random Credit Card Questions in Credit Cards

Random Credit Card Questions

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 12:36:09 GMT

I've got a few questions so instead of seperate posts, I will just ask them here.

First off, with most of the cards I have, I can get cash back. I know there is a fee for using that service. But, I have seen where alot of you on here get cash back at wal-mart. Does that show as a cash advance and start charging fees/interest right away or does that one work different?

I just got my discover card a few weeks ago and I made a charge for 105.00 and then paid 55.00 to that 50.00 would hit my statement to show I am using the card. I am going to pay that 50.00 this week. A few days ago on the discover site, it said my statement closing is Sept. 25th. Today when I logged in, there is no statement and it is now showing that the next statement date is Oct. 25. Has the statement just not shown up yet or is there is going to be one?

On the amazon and wal-mart cards that I have (store cards) do they offer you the Visa/Discover card after so many months of having the store card or do you request it a year or so down the line?

Last week is when I made my first payments on all my cards so I scheduled my payments for that day. I want to schedule payoff's for 2 of the cards for this Saturday after my paycheck has posted but wanted to make sure they do not take the payment or hold the money before then. I see on here that many of you schedule payments pretty far in advance and I have never done that before so it makes me alittle nervous.

My last question is at what point does a credit card start charging interest? For instance, on one of the cards my statement cut and the balance was 55.00 with a minimum payment of 25.00 due by Oct. 10th. I paid 25.00 the same day the statement hit and am going to pay the remaining 30.00 on Friday. So has the interest started because I did not pay the full balance originally or would it start if not paid in full by the 10th?

Sorry for all the questions but I am still trying to get my head wrapped around all of this. Thanks

Re: Random Credit Card Questions

jsucool76 — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 13:02:46 GMT

Walmart is just charged as a normal transaction when you get cash back AT walmart with a purchase. When you swipe the card the machine will actually ask if you want cash back. (Not sure if it works at sams club, never been there)

I dont have a discover card, but my cap1 statements usually show up 1-2 days after the actual "statement cut" date

I think if you schedule payments in advanced it just pulls the money on the day you schedule it for. So if you schedule payment for oct 1 it'll pull october 1. Not entirely sure though.

And a card starts charging interest after your hrace period(usually 21-25 days after statement date) however... and this is a big however...

If you do not PIF by due date, interest(afaik) gets backdated to date of purchase and you get charged interest on the whole thing (even the portion you paid) this too applies to 0% into rates and special financing. If you dont pif by time intro rate expores, you pay ALL the interest.

Re: Random Credit Card Questions

jsucool76 — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 13:05:24 GMT

Sorry. Cant edit (on my cell phone)

To #3

GECRB will offer upgrades to the "major" (visa/mc/discover/amex) versions of their cards if they are the backers of both the store and major version.

For example, you may get an offer after a year or two for walmart discover BUT amazpn store is GECRB, amazpn visa is a chase card, so you wont get an offer to upgrade to amazon visa carD.

Re: Random Credit Card Questions

lithium78 — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 13:47:06 GMT

A word of advice with your Discover card: Always PIF on that card. If you carry any kind of balance from the previous month, Discover charges daily residuals on your purchases from the date of purchase. They are really sneaky that way and you'll end up paying way more interest than you should, especially since their minimum interest charge is $2.00.

Re: Random Credit Card Questions

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 14:40:59 GMT

@lithium78 wrote:
A word of advice with your Discover card: Always PIF on that card. If you carry any kind of balance from the previous month, Discover charges daily residuals on your purchases from the date of purchase. They are really sneaky that way and you'll end up paying way more interest than you should, especially since their minimum interest charge is $2.00.

I do plan on pif each month. Now when I got the card, I have 0% interest until Dec. 2013 so I should not incur any charges for bigger purchases that may take a month or two to pay right? I don't really plan on making a big purchase but I may near Christmas time.

Re: Random Credit Card Questions

Walt_K — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 15:25:50 GMT

@lithium78 wrote:
A word of advice with your Discover card: Always PIF on that card. If you carry any kind of balance from the previous month, Discover charges daily residuals on your purchases from the date of purchase. They are really sneaky that way and you'll end up paying way more interest than you should, especially since their minimum interest charge is $2.00.

Don't pretty much all credit cards work this way? I don't think that's unique to Discover.

Re: Random Credit Card Questions

lithium78 — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 03:10:19 GMT

@Walt_K wrote:
@lithium78 wrote:
A word of advice with your Discover card: Always PIF on that card. If you carry any kind of balance from the previous month, Discover charges daily residuals on your purchases from the date of purchase. They are really sneaky that way and you'll end up paying way more interest than you should, especially since their minimum interest charge is $2.00.
Don't pretty much all credit cards work this way? I don't think that's unique to Discover.

Most credit cards only charge interest for the balance you've accrued by the statement date. If you pay it off before the statement date, then you don't have to pay interest. Discover charges interest by the day throughout the month if you are carrying a balance from the previous month and their minimum interest charge is $2.00. Another card that does that is Credit One Bank and that's a pretty bad card. Discover is a great card, but you never want to carry a balance on it if you can avoid it.

Re: Random Credit Card Questions

jsucool76 — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 03:17:39 GMT

@lithium78 wrote:
@Walt_K wrote:
@lithium78 wrote:
A word of advice with your Discover card: Always PIF on that card. If you carry any kind of balance from the previous month, Discover charges daily residuals on your purchases from the date of purchase. They are really sneaky that way and you'll end up paying way more interest than you should, especially since their minimum interest charge is $2.00.
Don't pretty much all credit cards work this way? I don't think that's unique to Discover.
Most credit cards only charge interest for the balance you've accrued by the statement date. If you pay it off before the statement date, then you don't have to pay interest. Discover charges interest by the day throughout the month if you are carrying a balance from the previous month and their minimum interest charge is $2.00. Another card that does that is Credit One Bank and that's a pretty bad card. Discover is a great card, but you never want to carry a balance on it if you can avoid it.

All credit cards do this if I am understanding you correctly.

If I run up a balance of $1,000, and I pay $100 of it off by the due date and carry the balance, I will be paying interest backdated to the date of original purchase on all $1000 dollars of that (including the $100 I paid afaik) with any credit card.

And Discover only charges a $0.50 minimum interest charge, not $2.00

From discover more application T&Cs

How to Avoid Paying Interest on Purchases	Your due date is at least 25 days after the close of each billing period (at least 23 days for billing periods that begin in February). We will not charge you any interest on purchases if you pay your entire balance by the due date each month.
Minimum Interest Charge	If you are charged interest, the charge will be no less than $0.50.

Re: Random Credit Card Questions

lithium78 — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 03:30:34 GMT

@jsucool76 wrote:
@lithium78 wrote:
@Walt_K wrote:
@lithium78 wrote:
A word of advice with your Discover card: Always PIF on that card. If you carry any kind of balance from the previous month, Discover charges daily residuals on your purchases from the date of purchase. They are really sneaky that way and you'll end up paying way more interest than you should, especially since their minimum interest charge is $2.00.
Don't pretty much all credit cards work this way? I don't think that's unique to Discover.
Most credit cards only charge interest for the balance you've accrued by the statement date. If you pay it off before the statement date, then you don't have to pay interest. Discover charges interest by the day throughout the month if you are carrying a balance from the previous month and their minimum interest charge is $2.00. Another card that does that is Credit One Bank and that's a pretty bad card. Discover is a great card, but you never want to carry a balance on it if you can avoid it.
All credit cards do this if I am understanding you correctly.

If I run up a balance of $1,000, and I pay $100 of it off by the due date and carry the balance, I will be paying interest backdated to the date of original purchase on all $1000 dollars of that (including the $100 I paid afaik) with any credit card.

And Discover only charges a $0.50 minimum interest charge, not $2.00

From discover more application T&Cs

How to Avoid Paying Interest on Purchases
Your due date is at least 25 days after the close of each billing period (at least 23 days for billing periods that begin in February). We will not charge you any interest on purchases if you pay your entire balance by the due date each month.
Minimum Interest Charge
If you are charged interest, the charge will be no less than $0.50.

You don't seem to understand what I am saying. Most credit cards will not charge you interest if you pay off your entire balance by the statement date. With Discover, if you have a balance from the previous month, then for the next month they will charge you interest on any balance you accrue by the day, even if you pay off the entire balance before the end of the month. And, yes, the minimum interest charged is $2.00, because that's what they charged me as minimum interest when I carried a balance from the previous month. (Although they refunded the interest as a goodwill gesture to me.)

Re: Random Credit Card Questions

compassion101 — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 06:35:43 GMT

@lithium78 wrote:

@jsucool76 wrote:
@lithium78 wrote:
@Walt_K wrote:
@lithium78 wrote:
A word of advice with your Discover card: Always PIF on that card. If you carry any kind of balance from the previous month, Discover charges daily residuals on your purchases from the date of purchase. They are really sneaky that way and you'll end up paying way more interest than you should, especially since their minimum interest charge is $2.00.
Don't pretty much all credit cards work this way? I don't think that's unique to Discover.
Most credit cards only charge interest for the balance you've accrued by the statement date. If you pay it off before the statement date, then you don't have to pay interest. Discover charges interest by the day throughout the month if you are carrying a balance from the previous month and their minimum interest charge is $2.00. Another card that does that is Credit One Bank and that's a pretty bad card. Discover is a great card, but you never want to carry a balance on it if you can avoid it.
All credit cards do this if I am understanding you correctly.

If I run up a balance of $1,000, and I pay $100 of it off by the due date and carry the balance, I will be paying interest backdated to the date of original purchase on all $1000 dollars of that (including the $100 I paid afaik) with any credit card.

And Discover only charges a $0.50 minimum interest charge, not $2.00

From discover more application T&Cs

How to Avoid Paying Interest on Purchases
Your due date is at least 25 days after the close of each billing period (at least 23 days for billing periods that begin in February). We will not charge you any interest on purchases if you pay your entire balance by the due date each month.
Minimum Interest Charge
If you are charged interest, the charge will be no less than $0.50.

You don't seem to understand what I am saying. Most credit cards will not charge you interest if you pay off your entire balance by the statement date. With Discover, if you have a balance from the previous month, then for the next month they will charge you interest on any balance you accrue by the day, even if you pay off the entire balance before the end of the month. And, yes, the minimum interest charged is $2.00, because that's what they charged me as minimum interest when I carried a balance from the previous month. (Although they refunded the interest as a goodwill gesture to me.)

I'm not following what it is that you are saying Discover does that is different than other card companies. Can you give an example with date of purchase, date of statement, due date, and how much you paid and when, and how much interest gets charged?

Re: Random Credit Card Questions

jsucool76 — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 12:15:06 GMT

I get what you're saying now, the grace period disappears when you carry a balance, but i am pretty sure every card company does that. That's why you shouldnt carry balances unless you've got a 0% offer. Lol.

Re: Random Credit Card Questions

lithium78 — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 13:49:39 GMT

@compassion101 wrote:
I'm not following what it is that you are saying Discover does that is different than other card companies. Can you give an example with date of purchase, date of statement, due date, and how much you paid and when, and how much interest gets charged?

Ok, let's say I have a BoA credit card and let's say I carry a $20 balance from the previous month. BoA charges the minimum finance charge for that previous month. Then, I pay off that amount. Now, I'm using the BoA card as my primary card, so I use it during the current month to run up $2000 in charges, but pay off the entire amount before the statement date. Bank of America doesn't charge me any interest for the month, since the entire balance was paid off before the statement date.

With Discover, let's say I do the same thing: I carry a $20 balance from the previous month. Discover charges me $2.00 as a minimum finance charge. So, I pay off this finance charge and I use the Discover card for charges all during the new month and run up $2000. I pay off the entire balance before the statement date. Unlike the BoA card, Discover averages the amount per day that I carried on the card all during the month and charges me interest at the end of the month based on this average (with the minimum finance charge being $2.00). This is different than what the BoA card did when I paid the balance in full before the statement date.

If you carry a balance from the previous month on a Discover card, cardholders are charged daily residuals even if they pay off the balance in full before the statement date. This is similar to how Credit One Bank charges its cardholders, but with Discover this only happens if you carry a balance from the previous month.

Does that make more sense?

Re: Random Credit Card Questions

compassion101 — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 19:33:02 GMT

So basically I think you are saying on Discover:

jan 1: statment #1 cuts, $125 balance, payment due jan 25, you pay minimum of $25 on jan 24 leaving $100

jan 29 you pay the balance of $100 before the new statement cuts

feb 1: statement #2 cuts, you are charged daily interest for all purchases made between jan1-jan 29 (or 30)

I would have assumed that most/all CCCs calculated it the way Discover does but I've never run into this situation that I can recall. Anytime I've carried a balance that I don't PIF by the due date , I have never paid the rest of the balance before the statement cuts. Am I right that the other CCCs will charge daily interest on the charges above from jan 1-30 if you didn't pay the remaining balance before statement #2 cut?

Re: Random Credit Card Questions

Anonymous — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 20:37:01 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:

My last question is at what point does a credit card start charging interest? For instance, on one of the cards my statement cut and the balance was 55.00 with a minimum payment of 25.00 due by Oct. 10th. I paid 25.00 the same day the statement hit and am going to pay the remaining 30.00 on Friday. So has the interest started because I did not pay the full balance originally or would it start if not paid in full by the 10th?

Most all CC with grace periods work this way.

Assume you close on 30th, due date is 25th.

June , you charge $200 and statement closes on June 30.

If you pay $200 by July 25th, there will be no interest, regarless of any other charges in July.

If you pay $25 by July 25th, then when statement closes on July 30, interest will be charged. It will be based on the average daily balance of July period. So charges made during this period are included in interest calculation. From now on, extra charge will incur interest until you get back into PIF by due date.

Note that it will take 2 months to get back to $0 interest unless you PIF before statement closes. This part is very confusing and may explaiin the big preceding discussions.