What are the important things you should check in your credit card statement?

Credit cards have become a vital part of everyday life as an easy-to-pay alternative for most daily purchases, making transactions simple by reducing the burden of carrying cash in our pockets. Credit card usage in India increased to 52 million in 2019 and are predicted to grow at a CAGR of over 25% between 2020 and 2025.

The nicest thing about credit cards is that they are much more secure and safe than debit cards, as they provide greater security against online and in-store purchases. They also feature a slew of advantages, including global acceptance, payback points, rewards, cash withdrawal from ATMs similar to debit cards, and ease of use in an emergency.

If you are a regular user of credit cards, here are a few things that you must be aware of –

1) Account Summary –

You must carefully go through your credit card statement after you receive it. Usually, things like credit card balance, opening balance, amount of purchases, interest rates, statement closing date etc are mentioned on it. You must know that payments made post the billing cycle won’t be reflecting in your current statement.

2) Due Date –

The deadline to pay your credit card bills is called the due date & it is explicitly mentioned on your statement. If you miss this due date, you may be charged with high interest on your pending bill amount. This is one of the most important points in the credit card statement.

3) Min. amount due –

In case you are unable to pay the entire bill of your credit card in full, there is a minimum amount defined on your statement which can paid to avoid any penalties. This is your minimum amount due which is the least amount expected from you to be paid. One must note that even if you pay the minimum amount due, interest will be charged for the outstanding amount.

4) Total amount due –

This is the sum total of the interest rate on the outstanding amount, late fee if applicable, carry forward amount from previous billing cycle, applicable service charges, or penalties.

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5) Grace period –

 After you spend a certain amount from your credit limit, you get a grace period of generally 45 days to repay the amount. If you pay your bills within the grace period, you are not charged with any extra fees or charges. 

6) Rewards & Perks –

This is one of the major reasons why people choose to use a credit card app for payments. Users win reward points when they spend money from their credit limit to purchase goods or services. You can easily convert these into cash or redeem them while shopping.