Chase Freedom, points, interest, and grace periods. Oh My!

[SecretAzure]

I've been on these forums for years and I still don't feel like I have the best grasp of grace periods and interest accumulation. 

Situation: I have Chase Freedom with 5% on Amazon atm. I have pre-ordered a PS5 on Amazon. I want to earn cashback so I want to pay into the e-balance now before the quarter is up. I will not be able to PIF so I will pay interest but it seems to be less than 5% CB I would earn. Someone here recommended I don't just load up the full amount on the e-balance in one-shot. What would be the safest way to proceed to minimize interest while also mitigating negative response from Chase for what is basically buying myself a gift card for points?

I was thinking:

1. A few hundred dollar charge today, the remaining cost of the PS5 on the last day of the month.
   1. Will this mean I will have no grace period for the second charged amount?
2. A single charge for the full amount ~$535?
   1. Will this make Chase suspicious?
3. Something else I have yet to consider?

Your opinions are always valued! Thanks denizens of MF!

[Remedios]

You won't earn cashback untill the charge for PS5 posts. 

If you pay over the statement amount, it will sit there as a credit.

Typically, charge will pend untill item is ready to ship, they stay for a few, dropoff, show up again, etc. 

If your charge hasn't posted, it's pointless to pay it now, because you won't earn 5% on it. 

[randomguy1]

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@Remedios wrote:

You won't earn cashback untill the charge for PS5 posts. 

If you pay over the statement amount, it will sit there as a credit.

Typically, charge will pend untill item is ready to ship, they stay for a few, dropoff, show up again, etc. 

If your charge hasn't posted, it's pointless to pay it now, because you won't earn 5% on it. 

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This.

When it posts, it will most likely be the next quarter which will be the Q4 categories.

[SecretAzure]

Maybe I'm being unclear again, I meant making a payment to my Amazon balance now, not to Chase in advance. So it should look like a new charge to Chase right now for "Amazon."

[TSlop]

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@SecretAzure wrote:

Maybe I'm being unclear again, I meant making a payment to my Amazon balance now, not to Chase in advance. So it should look like a new charge to Chase right now for "Amazon."

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You want to make a payment to your Amazon account using your Chase card? I did not know there was a place to have Amazon credit stored, besides a gift card.

*EDIT* I do see gift cards count, so you could purchase gift cards in advance at 5% cashback that you can use to pay the PS5 when the bill hits, as long as you can change/add to the payment options after the preorder.

[dragontears]

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@SecretAzure wrote:

I've been on these forums for years and I still don't feel like I have the best grasp of grace periods and interest accumulation. 

Situation: I have Chase Freedom with 5% on Amazon atm. I have pre-ordered a PS5 on Amazon. I want to earn cashback so I want to pay into the e-balance now before the quarter is up. I will not be able to PIF so I will pay interest but it seems to be less than 5% CB I would earn. Someone here recommended I don't just load up the full amount on the e-balance in one-shot. What would be the safest way to proceed to minimize interest while also mitigating negative response from Chase for what is basically buying myself a gift card for points?

I was thinking:

1. A few hundred dollar charge today, the remaining cost of the PS5 on the last day of the month.
   1. Will this mean I will have no grace period for the second charged amount?
2. A single charge for the full amount ~$535?
   1. Will this make Chase suspicious?
3. Something else I have yet to consider?

Your opinions are always valued! Thanks denizens of MF!

---

If I am understanding you correctly you want to "reload" your Amazon account with the amount of the new gaming system. 

I can not provide information on the interest and grace period because you did not provide the date of your statement and when you will be able to pay the balance other than to say that you get the longest "float" by making the charge right after your statement cuts.

Honestly I think you are wat over thinking the way to make the charge, if you are really concerned that chase might suspect it to be a MS charge add some change to the price like $536.54.

[SecretAzure]

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@dragontears wrote:

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@SecretAzure wrote:

I've been on these forums for years and I still don't feel like I have the best grasp of grace periods and interest accumulation. 

Situation: I have Chase Freedom with 5% on Amazon atm. I have pre-ordered a PS5 on Amazon. I want to earn cashback so I want to pay into the e-balance now before the quarter is up. I will not be able to PIF so I will pay interest but it seems to be less than 5% CB I would earn. Someone here recommended I don't just load up the full amount on the e-balance in one-shot. What would be the safest way to proceed to minimize interest while also mitigating negative response from Chase for what is basically buying myself a gift card for points?

I was thinking:

1. A few hundred dollar charge today, the remaining cost of the PS5 on the last day of the month.
   1. Will this mean I will have no grace period for the second charged amount?
2. A single charge for the full amount ~$535?
   1. Will this make Chase suspicious?
3. Something else I have yet to consider?

Your opinions are always valued! Thanks denizens of MF!

---

If I am understanding you correctly you want to "reload" your Amazon account with the amount of the new gaming system. 

I can not provide information on the interest and grace period because you did not provide the date of your statement and when you will be able to pay the balance other than to say that you get the longest "float" by making the charge right after your statement cuts.

Honestly I think you are wat over thinking the way to make the charge, if you are really concerned that chase might suspect it to be a MS charge add some change to the price like $536.54.

---

You hit the nail on the head. And I honestly wouldn't leave a balance there for probably but 3 months at most. Oh wow, if all they do is add a couple of bucks then I really shouldn't be concerned. 

I think my statement close date is 10/6/20 (last month's statement says 8/7/20-9/6/20). Due date is listed as 10/3/20.

Appreciate all the info everyone!

[dragontears]

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@SecretAzure wrote:

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@dragontears wrote:

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@SecretAzure wrote:

I've been on these forums for years and I still don't feel like I have the best grasp of grace periods and interest accumulation. 

Situation: I have Chase Freedom with 5% on Amazon atm. I have pre-ordered a PS5 on Amazon. I want to earn cashback so I want to pay into the e-balance now before the quarter is up. I will not be able to PIF so I will pay interest but it seems to be less than 5% CB I would earn. Someone here recommended I don't just load up the full amount on the e-balance in one-shot. What would be the safest way to proceed to minimize interest while also mitigating negative response from Chase for what is basically buying myself a gift card for points?

I was thinking:

1. A few hundred dollar charge today, the remaining cost of the PS5 on the last day of the month.
   1. Will this mean I will have no grace period for the second charged amount?
2. A single charge for the full amount ~$535?
   1. Will this make Chase suspicious?
3. Something else I have yet to consider?

Your opinions are always valued! Thanks denizens of MF!

---

If I am understanding you correctly you want to "reload" your Amazon account with the amount of the new gaming system. 

I can not provide information on the interest and grace period because you did not provide the date of your statement and when you will be able to pay the balance other than to say that you get the longest "float" by making the charge right after your statement cuts.

Honestly I think you are wat over thinking the way to make the charge, if you are really concerned that chase might suspect it to be a MS charge add some change to the price like $536.54.

---

You hit the nail on the head. And I honestly wouldn't leave a balance there for probably but 3 months at most. Oh wow, if all they do is add a couple of bucks then I really shouldn't be concerned. 

I think my statement close date is 10/6/20 (last month's statement says 8/7/20-9/6/20). Due date is listed as 10/3/20.

Appreciate all the info everyone!

---

Ok so you would be making the charge before the end of the month and having your statement cut on 10/6, you will start being charged interest if you don't pay in full by 11/3.

To estiamte the amount of interest take your APR and divide by 12 then multiple by the balance (it is slightly more complicated calculation as CC use average daily balance method and APR divide by 365 multiply by days in the billing cycle)

So number example, using an APR of 24% to make the math easier:

24%/12=2%

$535*2%=$10.70

Hope that helps 

[Remedios]

If your APR is around 21%, carrying 500 entire time will cost you about $5.00 in interest (over the period of three months).

However, Chase requires two statements paid in full to restore grace period ( most other lenders are 1 month). 

If you decide to do this, do not put any other charges on this card, because anything that remains past due date is accumulating interest, plus new charges start accumulating interest as soon as they post.  That can turn your $5.00 in interest into a whole lot more if you were to continue using your Freedom. 

[TSlop]

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@dragontears wrote:

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@SecretAzure wrote:

I've been on these forums for years and I still don't feel like I have the best grasp of grace periods and interest accumulation. 

Situation: I have Chase Freedom with 5% on Amazon atm. I have pre-ordered a PS5 on Amazon. I want to earn cashback so I want to pay into the e-balance now before the quarter is up. I will not be able to PIF so I will pay interest but it seems to be less than 5% CB I would earn. Someone here recommended I don't just load up the full amount on the e-balance in one-shot. What would be the safest way to proceed to minimize interest while also mitigating negative response from Chase for what is basically buying myself a gift card for points?

I was thinking:

1. A few hundred dollar charge today, the remaining cost of the PS5 on the last day of the month.
   1. Will this mean I will have no grace period for the second charged amount?
2. A single charge for the full amount ~$535?
   1. Will this make Chase suspicious?
3. Something else I have yet to consider?

Your opinions are always valued! Thanks denizens of MF!

---

If I am understanding you correctly you want to "reload" your Amazon account with the amount of the new gaming system. 

I can not provide information on the interest and grace period because you did not provide the date of your statement and when you will be able to pay the balance other than to say that you get the longest "float" by making the charge right after your statement cuts.

Honestly I think you are wat over thinking the way to make the charge, if you are really concerned that chase might suspect it to be a MS charge add some change to the price like $536.54.

---

I don't think he'd have to worry about MS, since the 5% category specifically includes Amazon gift cards.

Basically, OP can reload their Amazon gift card balance to whatever they want, and then let it accrue interest from Chase as they pay it off. $535 would be $26.75 cashback, so I'd suggest making sure you don't pay more than that in interest or this isn't worth it.