Suppose I had a balance due on July 28th of $2000 (new purchases only) for my June 8 - July 7 statement. I missed the deadline, and ended up paying the $2000 on Aug 3rd. Before I made the payment, my total balance on August 3rd was $3000 (meaning I made $1000 in new purchases between July 8 and Aug 3). My question is, when I receive the statement for July 8 - August 7, will I have a grace period for the new purchases made during July 8 - August 7, or was it nullified because I carried a balance? If it's nullified, does it mean I should pay off the total current balance right away and avoid using the card until the next billing cycle (because any new purchases, even after paying the total current balance, will not have a grace period)?? Any comments are appreciated!!!
Great question. I actually had to read it a few times to make sure I was following you. I love questions like that. Anyway, I think the key here is to determine if your "average daily balance" calculation includes or excludes new purchases. If your new purchases are included, then you probably lost the grace period as soon as you carried a balance and made the late payment. They'll keep charging you interest until you pay everything off in full and get completely caught up. I had this happen on a business card once when payment was made just a few days late. Once I called and complained (nicely), I was able to get everything caught up and they reversed the additional interest charges. Hope that helps.
