If you are a new credit card user, you might be unaware or confused about the billing cycle. The billing cycle may vary for every credit card user. But the basic calculation is the same. In this article, we will discuss the several factors involved in the billing cycle. Let us begin.
What is a Credit Card?
A credit card is a financial tool or instrument issued by financial institutions like banks or other non-bank entities. The card is generated with a pre-determined credit limit, allowing you to perform cashless transactions at all POS, ATMs (if your card allows ATM transactions), or online payment portals. The credit card limit is based on the user’s credit score, history, and monthly or annual income.
Once you pay credit card bill online, you can repay the billed amount within a certain repayment period without additional interest. However, a certain interest will be applied to your balance if you pay after the due bill period.
The primary difference between a credit card and a debit card is that when you swipe your debit card, the amount gets deducted from your bank account. But, if you swipe the credit card, the money will be deducted from the credit limit.
Credit cards are generally of two types: domestic and international. If you plan an international trip, you can get an international credit card to manage all expenses. With a credit card, one can perform both online and offline payments. All the details are stored securely with the issuer.
About Credit Card Billing Cycle and its Working
After getting information about a credit card, it is important for credit card users to know about the billing cycle, also known as the statement cycle. It is the duration in which the bill is generated. All the transactions performed in this period will reflect in the credit card statement of the following statement.
For example, if your card’s billing date or the statement date is the tenth of every month. Then your billing cycle will mostly be from the eleventh of the previous month to the third of the present month.
All expenses, such as bill payments, shopping, etc., made during this duration will be recorded in this statement and generated at the end of the billing cycle.
What is a Credit Card Due Date?
A credit card’s due date is the final day you must pay the bill. It is at least fifteen days from the statement date. For instance, if you receive the credit card statement on the sixth of every month. Then the due date will be on the twenty-sixth month. It means you need to pay your dues by the twenty-sixth to avoid penalty charges.
You have an alternative option if you can only pay part of the billed amount. One can pay the minimum due in this time frame. However, you will be charged a late fee and some interest on the total outstanding amount.
- Total due amount: The total due amount refers to the complete amount due for payment on the statement date.
- Minimum due amount: If we talk about the minimum due amount due, it refers to the percentage of the complete outstanding bill. One must pay that amount if one cannot pay the entire credit card bill.
How Does the Billing Cycle of a Credit Card Impact Your Credit Score?
The credit card’s billing cycle will not impact your credit score directly. But missed payments, partial payments, or paying the minimum amount, etc., will significantly affect your credit score.
How to Find the Payment Due Date of Credit Card?
One can get their credit card’s payment due date information which will be printed on the monthly billing statement. But what should you do if you don’t have the physical or an e-copy of the statement? The solution is that you should log in to your bank’s portal or application to check the due date.
Otherwise, call the credit card issuer’s customer service team and get the information about the payment due date. You can also get information about the minimum due amount from customer care. We suggest you mark the due payment dates on the calendar. It will help you to pay the bills on time by giving reminders. Moreover, you will not miss any payments and get late payment penalties from your bank.
Conclusion
You will know your payment due date and the minimum payment amount as soon as you get notified about your statement. This information is for domestic and international credit card holders. It is important to manage the credit card billing cycle and pay the bills on time. Otherwise, unwanted penal charges will be applied, and your CIBIL score will also get affected. Paying bills on time will help you to improve your credit score.
