Credit Card Billing Cycle
If you are a first-time credit card user, you might be unaware of the concept of a billing cycle meaning. A credit card billing cycle is the time between your credit card billing statements. The billing cycle length may vary depending on the card issuer’s policy and the type of credit card. The period may range from 27 to 31 days. Your credit card provider complies with your statement at the end of your billing cycle, and then you can make your credit card payment until the due date.
How Does the Credit Card Billing Cycle Work?
Credit card users need to understand their credit card billing cycle and due date. All the transactions conducted during the billing cycle are reflected in your credit card statement for the month.
For example, if the statement date or billing date of your ICICI credit card payment is the 5th of every month, then your ICICI credit card billing cycle will be from the 6th of the previous month to the 5th of the current month. All payments, purchases, cash withdrawals, etc., made with the card during the period will be displayed in the statement generated at the end of the ICICI Bank credit card billing cycle.
This simply means that you have to pay your dues by the 5th without any extra charges within this time frame. If, for any reason, you are unable to pay your total due amount or even the minimum due amount within this credit card billing cycle ICICI will levy a late fee, as well as interest, on the due amount.
What is the Total Amount Due and Minimum Amount Due?
Total Amount Due is the entire amount due for payment on the statement date. The minimum Amount Due is a percentage of the total outstanding bill amount that you must pay to the bank if you cannot pay the entire amount.
You can avoid paying the late payment charges and also being considered a defaulter by the issuer if you pay the minimum amount due by the due date. However, interest will be accrued on the remaining bill amount.
How is the Minimum Amount Due Calculated?
If you are unable to pay the total outstanding bill on your card in any given month, you can choose to pay a small portion of the total bill to avoid a late payment fee. This small portion is termed as Minimum Amount Due (MAD) and is decided by the credit card provider. You will find MAD for the month in each month’s credit card statement.
MAD is typically 5% of the total outstanding credit card bill or a fixed amount of Rs. 200 to Rs. 300, varying upon your card policy. If you have any loan on your credit card, the installment of the month will be added to the MAD. In that case, MAD will become 5% of the total outstanding + EMIs + taxes (if any). Also, any over-limit amount on the card is added to the MAD along with unpaid MAD from the previous month(s).
What is a Credit Card Interest-Free Period?
An interest-free period on a credit card is the duration for which no interest is levied on the amount used on a credit card. It is the duration between the first day of your card’s billing cycle and the day on which the payment is due. Moreover, Check different banks' credit card interest rates and apply.
Does Credit Card Billing Cycle Affect Credit Score?
Your credit card billing cycle or the billing cycle of any credit card, may not directly impact your Credit Score. However, any missed payments, partial payments, MAD payments, etc., will significantly impact your credit score.
According to Credit Information Bureau (India) Limited or CIBIL, a missed payment can affect your credit score for up to two years, and it may reflect on your credit report for up to 3 years. Credit card issuers report the data related to your credit card account to credit rating agencies every 30-45 days. This is why even a single missed payment, either intentional or not, would take a toll on your credit score.
FAQs
Yes, you can change your HDFC credit card billing cycle or HDFC credit card billing cycle date by calling your credit card provider and checking for the availability of the option.
Yes, Axis Bank allows its customers to change their billing cycle once in a year. To opt for the Flipkart Axis Bank credit card billing cycle date change, you can call or send an email to the customer care team of the bank.
You can check your credit card's interest-free period, Axis Bank's credit card billing cycle, and other crucial information in the most important terms and conditions document received with your card.
Yes, you can find your Flipkart Axis Bank credit card billing cycle, payment date, and billing date on your credit card statement. You will either receive your Flipkart Axis Bank credit card billing cycle date with other details in the monthly statement physically at your registered mailing address or as an e-statement on your registered e-mail ID.
You can find your Amazon Pay ICICI credit card billing cycle, billing date, payment due date, MAD, and all other information in the statement generated every month.
Yes, you can request to change your Kotak credit card billing cycle or billing date.
Your Axis credit card billing cycle is mentioned on each month’s card statement. It is also given on the welcome document received along with your credit card.
The SBI credit card payment due date or billing cycle for a particular month is communicated by the bank through monthly statements and SMS alerts. Alternatively, you can also log in to sbicard.com or the SBI Card mobile app using your user ID and password to view the billing cycle or the payment due date.
To view the billing cycle and due date, follow these steps:
- Log in to the SBI app
- On the dashboard, choose Credit Card
- The last billed date is mentioned in the summary of the card.
When you receive your HDFC billing statement through email, you will see the due date for payment or billing cycle, which must be adhered to on or before that day in order to avoid penalties.