Quick Newbie Question on BOI credit cards!

RichCRX

Hey,
I'm new to the whole crdit card thing and my noob question is;
On the statement it says Your bank account will be debited by the minimum payment due on or after 20 July 2009.

Does this mean I have up until the 20th of July to pay my credit card bill before being charge yes?

Also what exactly is the minimum payment?

Thanks and Please Bear With Me:D
Rich

romah

When you signed the credit card agreement originally you agreed to pay a minimum amount each month against your credit card. thats is what the bank wants and THIS IS HOW THE BANKS SCREW YOU !!!

If you miss a payment and do not pay 100% of the balance you will incur very high interest charges

Always pay 100% of your bill.
Treat your credit card like CASH .
Get into the habit of paying the credit card on time every month

Remember , if you do pay your credit card bill on time every month the bank is giving you FREE credit from the time you purchase items on the card until you pay your bill.

RichCRX

But im wondering do I have till the 20th of july to pay the credit card bill or what as for some reason I have in the back of my head that payment has to be made 10 days after the bill is issued.

Just wondering as I'll go in and pay it tomorrow but i'm waiting for activation code for online banking way.

romah

The payment date should be stated on the first bill . check for that at end of bill normally

"payment to reach us by ....."

You normally get around 20ish days from the statement date to pay so if your statement was issued in the last few days the 20th July sounds right.

You have until then to pay balance .

RichCRX

great stuff...thanks for clearing that up.

Toots

romah wrote: »

When you signed the credit card agreement originally you agreed to pay a minimum amount each month against your credit card. thats is what the bank wants and THIS IS HOW THE BANKS SCREW YOU !!!

Actually, this is not true. When you apply for a BOI card, you have the option to either pay by Direct Debit, or pay manually (either online, or using the giro on your statement). The DD is not automatically set up to go at the minimum every month. You have to tick the option of either 'minimum' (2.5%), 10%, 50% or 100% on the direct debit mandate.

TBH, I don't see how this is the bank 'screwing' people. YOU (the customer) have the choice of what payment to make, and if you're signing up for the credit card, you should be aware of the Ts&Cs and any charges associated with having the card. A credit card debt is higher risk, unsecured, and has no set repayment structure, hence the higher interest rate. Regardless of whether or not you pay by direct debit, you have to pay AT LEAST the minimum payment off your account by the due date on your statement. Whether or not you pay the balance every month is up to you.

Always pay 100% of your bill.
Treat your credit card like CASH .
Get into the habit of paying the credit card on time every month

+1 to this, it's scary how many people get themselves into an awful lot of trouble by letting their credit card debt spiral out of control, and it's easily done. Sadly there are a lot of threads on this forum from people who are in trouble and can't make even the minimum payment on their card.

romah

Toots* wrote: »

Actually, this is not true. When you apply for a BOI card, you have the option to either pay by Direct Debit, or pay manually (either online, or using the giro on your statement). The DD is not automatically set up to go at the minimum every month. You have to tick the option of either 'minimum' (2.5%), 10%, 50% or 100% on the direct debit mandate.

TBH, I don't see how this is the bank 'screwing' people. YOU (the customer) have the choice of what payment to make, and if you're signing up for the credit card, you should be aware of the Ts&Cs and any charges associated with having the card. A credit card debt is higher risk, unsecured, and has no set repayment structure, hence the higher interest rate. Regardless of whether or not you pay by direct debit, you have to pay AT LEAST the minimum payment off your account by the due date on your statement. Whether or not you pay the balance every month is up to you.


+1 to this, it's scary how many people get themselves into an awful lot of trouble by letting their credit card debt spiral out of control, and it's easily done. Sadly there are a lot of threads on this forum from people who are in trouble and can't make even the minimum payment on their card.

sorry TOOTS , maybe i should apologies for my choice of langauge

I understand that the choice is given to the customer but the minimum payment option to the customer does give the bank the "opportunity" to charge interest which is how the the credit card earns income for the bank.

The "minimum payment" is possibly not under stood !!

There is too much focus on the "minimum"
People say to themselves that once I pay the minimum the debt is cleared for this month and carried forward into next month
and the debt spirals out of control.
Credit Cards are an easy form of credit but you have to be disciplined in the way you manage it and pay it back