Quick question about credit cards

[Theodoreb]

I’ve never had a credit card before so have a quick question I took one out just before Xmas and put quite a bit of stuff on there I have just had my money through and have paid of quite a large sum before the payment was due. Will I need to make another payment when the payment is due or will the early payment cover it for this month?

You will get a statement that tells you how much to pay and when by. When I had a CC I set up direct debits to pay off a certain amount each month. If you've be not done this, then you'll be ok having paid off a lump sum.

It depends on the company! You’ll have to check your statement or give them a call.

If you've paid a bit off but not the whole amount you'll be liable for interest on the outstanding amount.

They usually give you a minimum repayment amount and a date to pay by when you get your statement through. If you only pay this you'll be paying interest on the balance that's rolled over to the following month.

When you get your statement, it should say what you've already paid. Pay the rest off in full by the date they say. Then no interest will be due.

Ok thank you everyone I’ll set up a direct debit now.

You need to make a payment between the statement date and the payment due date. If you pay before the statement is produced it will be too early to count as a payment by the next due date and you will need to at least make the minimum payment again.

Be aware that if you don't pay off the whole balance by the due date you will pay quite a lot of interest unless you have an interest free spending offer, so try not to get into the habit if carrying a balance from month to month.

Credit cards have lots of advantages if you treat them as a payment card with a small interest free period, just set up a direct debit to pay the balance off in full each month and you don't have to worry about what to pay when or getting into debt.