Playing the Credit Card Grace Period Game
Know the terms of your credit card grace period
Grace period -- kind of sounds like a gift from God, doesn't it? Unfortunately, it's not. Your credit card grace period is a gift that, if given by your credit card company at all, allows you to avoid a finance charge by paying your balance in full by a certain date. That, however, is sometimes easier said than done. Here are some credit card grace period tips you really shouldn't live without:
The ABCs of Your TOS
What's a TOS, you say? It stands for "Terms of Service" and it's what your credit card company hopes you never read. But you do need to read and understand the TOS if you want to avoid paying some hefty fees. When you make purchases, you're agreeing to the company's terms, including the credit card grace period.
Part of your credit card Terms of Service refer to your grace period. Don't assume you automatically get 20 days or more. That might have been true in the old days when mom and dad were running the show. Nowadays some credit card companies allow only 15 days and there are even a few who don't offer any credit card grace period at all.
Avoid Costly Mistakes
Even if you do have a 20-day credit card grace period, you might still find yourself paying a hefty fee or finance charges every so often. Usually it's due to common mistakes.
Just because you don't receive a statement in the mail doesn't mean your payment isn't due. If you miss that credit card grace period, you're going to start paying interest on your balance, whether it was your fault or not. Keep a calendar of when your due date is and make sure a payment is sent in by that date (or arrange to have payments taken out of your checking or savings account automatically).
Another way to make sure "missing" credit card statements don't cause you to exceed your grace period is by signing up for electronic statements in addition to snail mail statements. By receiving your statements via email and snail mail, you can make sure your payment is always sent before your grace period expires.
While the credit card grace period of today may be nothing like the grace periods of yesteryear, it is still a workable situation -- assuming you know how to play the game and win. Keeping the above tips in mind will help you do just that.
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