Sneaky Credit Card Trick #2 - No Grace Period

[This post is written and copyrighted by FIRE Finance (http://firefinance.blogspot.com).]

There are many credit card programs which do not offer any grace period. A wise strategy is to simply avoid such cards whenever possible.

What is a grace period?

The period from the statement date to the payment-due date is known as grace period. If we make a full payment by the end of the grace period, the credit card company does not charge any interest. But if we make a partial payment, interest kicks in at the end of the grace period. Most cards offer grace periods to customers who pay off their balances each month.

Fact

Many credit card issuers have decreased the interest-free grace periods from 25 days to 20. That means that by the time we get our bill by snail mail, we may already be paying interest if we carry a balance.

Way(s) out?

Its best to switch to online statements so that we know how much we owe and the payment due date the day our statements are generated. Then we can accordingly pay at the earliest.

Avoid credit cards which do not come with a grace period. Choose only those cards which have generous interest-free grace periods.

Series

» Sneaky Credit Card Tricks - An Introduction
» Trick #1 - Over The Credit Limit Fees
» Trick #2 - No Grace Period
» Trick #3 - Late Fees In Minutes
» Trick #4 - Convenience Checks
» Trick #5 - Skip A Payment Invits
» Trick #6 - Lower Minimum Payments
» Trick #7 - High Cash Advance Fees & Rates
» Trick #8 - Fixed Rates are NOT Fixed
» Trick #9 - 0% APR - Take Care with the Fine Print
» Trick #10 - Beware of Disability Coverage & Card Theft Insurance

Image Source(s): iStockPhoto

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