How to check how much money is on your card

This question is about Credit Cards

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What does current balance mean on a credit card?

The current balance on a credit card is the amount you owe on your account, minus any pending purchases or payments. All of the purchases you’ve made that have been processed by your credit card company since you last paid your bill are included in the current balance.

On a credit card account summary, you’ll likely see “Current Balance,” “Pending Balance,” and “Available Credit.” Pending balance refers to transactions that are being processed and may not be reflected in your current balance yet. Available credit refers to your total credit limit minus your current and pending balances. Essentially, available credit is how much of your credit you can still spend before making a payment.… read full answer

To make it simpler, picture it like this:

Credit Limit - Current Balance - Pending Transactions = Available Credit

For example, let’s say you have a credit limit of $5,000, your current balance is $1,500, and there’s a pending balance of $500. Your current and pending balances add up to $2,000. Subtract that from $5,000, and you have your available credit: $3,000.

Every time you make a purchase, the amount will be subtracted from your available credit. Every time you make a payment, your available credit will increase by the amount of the payment once it processes.

Another type of balance you’ll see on your account summary is a “Statement Balance.” The statement balance is what you owe as of the date each billing period ends. This is when your monthly account statement gets generated. Your current balance will be higher than your statement balance if you make additional purchases but no extra payment between the end of the billing period and your due date. You must make at least the required minimum payment by the due date to keep your account in good standing.

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Does anyone have advice on when to pay a credit card?

The best time to pay a credit card bill is a few days before the due date, which is listed on the monthly statement. Paying at least the minimum amount required by the due date keeps the account in good standing and is the key to building a good or excellent credit score. That’s true for everyone, but some people might want to take things a step further, particularly cardholders carrying balances from month to month and people with high credit utilization.… read full answer

If you have a credit card balance that you carry from month to month, it’s best to pay that credit card’s bill as soon as the monthly account statement becomes available. This will save you money on interest. Paying the card’s monthly bill in full for two consecutive months will also reduce your interest charges by reinstituting your account’s grace period. Instead of purchases beginning to accrue daily interest charges right after you make them, you will have a window between when your monthly statement becomes available and when your bill is due to pay with no interest.

If the balance listed on your monthly credit card statements consistently equals more than 30% of the card’s credit limit, consider paying your bill multiple times per month. Paying once in the middle of the month and again before the due date will reduce the balance listed on your statement. That, in turn, will lower your credit utilization, which should help your credit score.

Here’s a quick example: You have a credit card with a limit of $1,000. You charge $500 to it, using up 50% of your credit. Then, you make a payment of $300 before the billing period closes and your statement is generated. That brings your statement balance to $200 and your utilization to 20%. Paying off the final $200 before the due date then keeps your account in good standing.

Here’s when to pay a credit card:

• If your credit utilization is 30% or less and you pay in full every month, pay your credit card bill by the due date listed on your monthly account statement.
• If your balance is more than 30% of your credit limit, pay your credit card bill before the billing period closes to reduce your credit utilization, then pay the remaining balance by the due date.
• If you’re carrying a balance from month to month, pay off your full credit card balance as soon as possible to save on interest.

It’s a good idea to set up automatic payments with your credit card issuer so you don’t have to worry about when to pay your credit card bill. Doing so will automatically make a payment from a linked bank account every month on the due date, or a day of your choice before that. You can’t be marked late unless your account has insufficient funds. And even with automatic payments set up, you can still make additional payments any time you want.

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What is a closing date on a credit card?

The closing date on a credit card is the last day of a credit card’s billing cycle and when the credit card statement gets compiled for the account. The statement will typically “close” at midnight, so the day before the closing date is likely the last day that new charges can be added to that month’s statement. The closing date is also when a credit card issuer calculates interest charges from the billing cycle, if the cardholder began the billing cycle with a balance.… read full answer

To be clear, a credit card’s closing date is not the due date. But it can be an important date if you’re looking to lower your credit utilization. That’s because the closing date is when many card issuers report to credit bureaus. So the balance on the statement is what gets reported to credit bureaus. That means if you pay your bill on the due date – weeks after the statement is compiled – your credit report won’t reflect the dent you made in your balance with the payment.

You can take advantage of this by paying your balance in full before the closing date, rather than on the due date. That way, when the card issuer reports your balance info to credit bureaus, you’ll have a zero balance, which will likely improve your credit score.

The closing date for a credit card is listed on the monthly account statement, under “Opening/Closing Date” in the account summary or at the top of the statement.

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