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I have a Capital One QS that had 0% interest for 14 months which ended in February. My February statement shows 0% interest charged and a balance of around $5K. I paid the balance in full by the due date of March 9.
My closing date was yesterday and I checked my account to see an interest charge of $25 and change. I cannot wrap my head around this. If I was in a period of 0% interest, then paid the balance in full by the next due date (when interest was in effect) how can I owe interest?
I chatted with a rep who explained it as a calculation on an average balance and I would have to pay in full two months in a row to see no interest charged. I told her I could not comprehend that how interest could be charged during a 0% interest period. She came back and waived the interest charge but what am I missing here? Zero should be zero, right?
What you are learning is something I learned the hardway. When carrying a balance interest begins on the first day. Your last day of 0% triggered the interest beginning charge. There was a balance on the account. Thus, interest began. Be glad the rep W/O the interest.
For balance transfers, I always pay them off one month before the 0% interest period ends -- just to avoid that situation.
@Anonymouswrote:What you are learning is something I learned the hardway. When carrying a balance interest begins on the first day. Your last day of 0% triggered the interest beginning charge. There was a balance on the account. Thus, interest began. Be glad the rep W/O the interest.
That part I get- I just don't understand how they could go back and say 0% wasn't 0% anymore. In my eyes, I paid in full for the period I was to be charged interest so I shouldn't have owed any. I am for sure grateful it got removed!
I feel like that's the reality of it- it's really 13 months at 0%, not 14. That's a little shady, imo.
@UpperNwGuywrote:For balance transfers, I always pay them off one month before the 0% interest period ends -- just to avoid that situation.
The rep was correct and yes, might have been 13 months not 14. In this case, you would have been fine paying at 11 or 12 months.
What was the FIRST DAY of the 14 month 0% interest period?
Give us the exact day, month, year when it started.
$25 interest on a $5000 balance is 0.5% and if the APR on that card is 25% (I have no idea) with a daily interest accumulation it appears you were charged 8-9 days of interest.
Assuming your interest period ended exactly on February 28, 2018, then the interest charge is correct and you did poor math planning.
@Anonymouswrote:What was the FIRST DAY of the 14 month 0% interest period?
Give us the exact day, month, year when it started.
$25 interest on a $5000 balance is 0.5% and if the APR on that card is 25% (I have no idea) with a daily interest accumulation it appears you were charged 8-9 days of interest.
Assuming your interest period ended exactly on February 28, 2018, then the interest charge is correct and you did poor math planning.
This is exactly what I was thinking. I'm sure a lot of people don't pay attention to the actual end date of the 0% period, because it most likely won't match your statement due date. You DID get 14 months at 0%, but not necessarily 14 statements.
That's one of the reasons I note the exact expiration date of a BT on my spreadsheet.
NFCU MR: $25K | Venture: $21K | Amex ED: $18K | NFCU CR: $18K | Amex BCE: $15K | IT #1: $17.5K | PNC Core: $15K | PPMC: $12K | Wells Fargo: $11K | Savor: 12K | Cap1 QS: $8.5K | Barclays Rewards: $7.75K | IT #2: $7.3K | MLife: $9.5K | Sportsman's Guide: $8.7K | PenFed PR: $5.5K | Elan Plat: $2.3K | TRV: $3.6K | BotW: $3K
Current FICO 8 Scores: EQ: 828| TU: 805 | EX: 814
+1 @Dalmus and @ABCD2199
The end of the 0% might not align with the statement due date. The Devil is in the details. The good thing with CO is the interest is not usually retro active like store cards or specialty cards. I usually call into the CSR before the promo expires to get the exact date it ends and do an additional payment to ensure it is at zero on that date. CO is also pretty good about stating what to pay to avoid interest if you use a card that is also carrying a promo balance.
Another good rule is never to use a balance transfer card for everyday transactions -- at least not until a month or two has passed following the full payoff of the transferred balance. Sometimes funny things happen with the interest charges, such as losing the 30 day grace period for purchases.