Important Information on a Credit Card Statement

Read your entirement credit card statement each month to protect yourself, save money and not miss rewards.

Each month, you receive your credit card statement in the mail and depending on your issuer and activity, it can be several pages. Your statement is comprised of several sections and each section has important information about your billing activity, changes in your account status and terms and conditions of using the card, including payment terms.

Minimum Payment Due & Due Date

To avoid late fees and hits to your credit score, take note of the minimum payment and due date listed on the first page of your credit card statement. If you do not have any interest charges and paid off your statement in full last month, you must pay the complete amount of new purchases by this due date to avoid any interest charges on purchases you made that are eligible for the grace period. You will notice the minimum payment is usually significantly smaller than the amount of new purchases you made.

Summary of Activity

At the top of your statement, a summary of your activity for the past billing statement is listed. You will see the total amount of purchases, payments, interest charges and other fees. The summary also tells you starting and closing dates of the recent billing cycle and where to send your payment. New laws dictating how creditors must format statements require a table telling consumers how long it will take you to pay down your debt if you make only the minimum payment.

Transaction Details

This section lists all activity on your credit card that occurred from the previous billing period. Each line has the date, the amount of the transaction and where you made the purchase. Individual detail on returns, credits, interest charges or other fees per the credit card's agreement are shown here as well. Each month, you want to review this section to make sure payments have been received, that there are no incorrect fees and that all of the purchases made belong to you.

Promotional Items Details

Many credit cards offer promotional rates and terms on balance transfer, purchases made for the first few months of opening the card account or special purchases from certain retailers. A section of your statement will discuss any promotional balances, the interest rate that applies to them and any conditions you must continue to adhere to if you wish to maintain the promotional balance status. A common promotion is no interest financing on select purchases. Creditors, however, will often recapture any interest charges on the full balance amount if you miss a payment or do not pay the balance off over the timeframe specified by the promotion.

Rewards & Loyalty Programs

Rewards programs are offered by credit card issuers to give you a reason to keep using their credit card. Typically, you earn points or cash back for every purchase you make. These points can be redeemed for airline tickets, gift cards or even cash. If you are enrolled in your credit card's rewards program, look to this section to see how many rewards you earned for the month and any special instructions regarding redemption of rewards or conditions to keep participating in the program.

References

• Adventures in Education: Reading a Credit Card Statement
• Consumerism Commentary: New Credit Card Statement Design Means Lower Balances
• Federal Reserve Board: Consumers Guide to Credit Cards: Reading Your Statement

Resources

• Federal Reserve Board: Consumers Guide to Credit Cards: Reading Your Statement