Finance Charges On Credit Cards

Monday, November 3, 2008

The actual charge from each purchase is not the only fee associated with the use of a credit card, there are some other fees.The amount you will have to pay on your credit card account each month will be increased by these other costs.From time to time, the common credit card fees of the APR, the annual fee, the late payment fee and the finance fee are found on credit card statements. The finance fee is added to it every month while the other fees will be added less frequently.

The credit card providers charge for the use of their lines of credit to make purchases and this is the dollar amount of the credit card finance charge.The finance charge amount will depend on the APR or the annual percentage rate and the outstanding balance on your card will determine how much you will pay in credit card finance charges.In the determination of your credit card finance charges your individual credit card company will implement their own policies and approach.

You need to understand how your outstanding balance is calculated; it may be calculated during one billing cycle or within two billing cycles.

There are three types of balances which are used to figure the amount of your annual finance charges and these three balances are the adjusted balance, the average daily balance, and the previous balance.The decision on whether the new or recent purchases you have made will be counted on the relative balance may be the common thing about these balances.The credit card finance charges can be figured when this decision has been made. Finance charges will vary depending on the billing cycle and based on the carry-over balance and the timing of different purchases and payments.

Many of the credit card companies are providing cards that operate under the minimum finance charge policy.Differences in the card’s balance each billing cycle will not cause changes or variations in the finance charges if this type of finance charge gives the cardholder a flat rate.The credit card’s minimum finance charge will go into effect when the card has a carry-over balance that goes into the next billing cycle.

The credit card finance charge is an unavoidable cost that has to be paid in order to be able to keep using the lines of credit on your credit card to make purchases.It is a very wise idea to keep a working knowledge of what will affect the finance charges which are added to the balance you pay on your credit card.Being charged an unreasonable fee for something you don’t want is unacceptable and you need to know what to do in such a circumstance.Time must be spent in studying your credit card terms and uses in order to know what to watch for on your monthly statement.Finance charges which cause an increase in the balance you will have to pay should be something you are aware of on the credit card you originally chose because of it’s reasonable rates and terms.

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