I'm getting really annoyed now. Last cycle my payment was made after the cutoff time and I got hit with interest. I contacted CSR and was told that since I paid the full balance due that as long as I paid the new balance due by the due date I won't get hit with additonal interest. I asked this three times to confirm. Now I get my frickin statement after having paid last month's statement balance and I am getting hit with interest again. I guess I have to pay the full card to zero to reset everything, but that is definetly not what they told me.What do I need to do to get these interest charges to stop? Pay off everything on the card, even the stuff not due yet and not use the card for two months? I use this card all the time and it will suck if I have to stop using it altogether to reset the grace period.
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To reinstate the grace period, You have to pay the full balance due on or before the
due date for 2 consecutive billing periods. "Balance due" is not necessarily the same
thing as zero out. The charges made since the last statement date are not due at the
next payment date. They will however be accruing interest from the date of each
individual charge. Cha-ching $$$. Paying down to zero will save interest even though
it isn't required to reinstate the grace period.
It seems complicated by design. Even on forums dedicated to credit card enthusiasts,
a considerable percentage of people don't understand the finer details of how grace periods
work. That is why it is much better to maintain the grace period by always paying the due
balance in full and on or before the due date. Autopay PIF can be your friend.The actual interest
cost for letting the grace period slip can be much higher than the card's APR implies.
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850 FICO8 since 2015, Thanks MyFICO - 5+ years since last HP
@EAJuggalo wrote:Did you clarify you were going to still be using the card between when the statement cut and when you actually paid? What do the T&C for that card say? If they apply payments to newer purchases before older than you still haven't paid off that first thing. Pay it off completely, wait a couple days so that everything posts. That should reset the grace period. I don't really expect frontline CSRs to know more about the things their selling than someone who does the research on it.
So let's say I wait till the end of this payment cycle and then I PIF every single thing on the card and do not put any new charges on. The grace period will reset on the statement date? Am I getting hit with interest again by waiting till the end of this cycle and then PIF even though I just paid the full balance due? This puts me in a financial bind to have to come up with all of this money on the spot. Yes, I repeated back what she was telling me so I could make sure I was understanding it clearly.
@Chris679 wrote:
@red259 wrote:
@EAJuggalo wrote:Did you clarify you were going to still be using the card between when the statement cut and when you actually paid? What do the T&C for that card say? If they apply payments to newer purchases before older than you still haven't paid off that first thing. Pay it off completely, wait a couple days so that everything posts. That should reset the grace period. I don't really expect frontline CSRs to know more about the things their selling than someone who does the research on it.
So let's say I wait till the end of this payment cycle and then I PIF every single thing on the card and do not put any new charges on. The grace period will reset on the statement date? Am I getting hit with interest again by waiting till the end of this cycle and then PIF even though I just paid the full balance due? This puts me in a financial bind to have to come up with all of this money on the spot. Yes, I repeated back what she was telling me so I could make sure I was understanding it clearly.
Yes, you are paying interest immediately on all charges because you have no grace period until you PIF two months in a row. Use another card until then.
So even if I pay everything on the card right now to zero. Wait for the charge to clear in two days. I can't use the card again this cycle without generating more interest?
@bada_bing wrote:To reinstate the grace period, You have to pay the full balance due on or before the
due date for 2 consecutive billing periods. "Balance due" is not necessarily the same
thing as zero out. The charges made since the last statement date are not due at the
next payment date. They will however be accruing interest from the date of each
individual charge. Cha-ching $$$. Paying down to zero will save interest even though
it isn't required to reinstate the grace period.
It seems complicated by design. Even on forums dedicated to credit card enthusiasts,
a considerable percentage of people don't understand the finer details of how grace periods
work. That is why it is much better to maintain the grace period by always paying the due
balance in full and on or before the due date. Autopay PIF can be your friend.The actual interest
cost for letting the grace period slip can be much higher than the card's APR implies.
Ok, so last month I did not PIF until the day after the due date. This month I PIF before due date for the balance due. Now a new statement has cut. As long as I PIF the balance due on the new statement on or before the due date the grace period will kick back in next cycle? Am I going to get hit with interest again on the next statement?