New to Discover, when would my first due date be?

[Anonymous]

I just received and activated my card today and in an email I see "your due date is the 2nd of each month"... does this mean if I were to make a purchase right now I would have until 9/2 to pay it off or would I not be told to pay until 10/2? it is probably best to hold off on using the card if the due date is just 4 days away like I also want to have the cash back from this transaction on 9/2 if that is the due date but I'm worried the transaction will still be pending and I won't be able to receive the cash back until October... 

[zerofire]

With credit cards there are two dates to be concerned of, the due date and the statement date. By law the due date has to be 23 days after the statement date. Don't ask why they picked such a weird number of days. On the due date you have to pay anything that is on the preceding statement or at least the minimum. This is why anything unpaid off a statement is forwarded onto the next statement plus interest. If you charge something the day before the due date there is a grace period before interest is calculated on it as long as you have fully paid the previous statement including all interest that has accrued to the day of payment. The grace period is to the due date on the statement that the charge first appears on. So first you charge then it has to make it on the statement and then by the due day it has to be paid. You will never only have 4 days to pay,

[Remedios]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I just received and activated my card today and in an email I see "your due date is the 2nd of each month"... does this mean if I were to make a purchase right now I would have until 9/2 to pay it off or would I not be told to pay until 10/2? it is probably best to hold off on using the card if the due date is just 4 days away like I also want to have the cash back from this transaction on 9/2 if that is the due date but I'm worried the transaction will still be pending and I won't be able to receive the cash back until October... 

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No. 

You will receive a statement on the 2nd, but it will be $0.00  due. 

Discover is weird like that. If more than 15 days from approval to first statement, there is a due amount. 

If it falls under 15 days, $0.00 due, it will be included in your October statement. 

My first statement from Discover generated 10 days after the approval, it said $0.00 due, but I was freaking out and paid it anyway 😐

Don't be me. 

[Anonymous]

I have no experience with Discover, but what usually happens is:  You apply for and receive a new card/account.  That account will have a statement close date, which may be based on a specific day of the month, or based on the date the account was opened.  Your first due date will be at least 23 days after that statement close date, so you'll have up to almost 2 months before a payment is due, if the 1st statement cuts a month after opening.

There are specific rules/laws about statement close and due dates (such as the aforementioned minimum of 23 days between statement cut and that statement's due date).  Also, statement cut/due dates usually never fall on the 28th or later of the month, because of Februarys.

An issuer, theoretically, could close the statement the day after opening a new account, making the due date 23 days later, but at that point you likely wouldn't have charged anything yet so nothing would be due.  They usually give you time to receive and activate the card and start using it before they make the first statement cut.

In the case of your new Discover, since you know the due date is on the 2nd, probably puts the statement cut date a few days later, maybe the 5th.  So, your first statement will cut on the 5th and the first payment would be due on the 2nd of the following month.  So you have a few weeks at least.