For example, if you have a credit card and it has a 28-day billing cycle, you can expect to be billed for any unpaid charges or fees that occur in those 28 days.
How a Credit Card Billing Cycle Works
Although credit card billing cycles vary by card issuer, they do have to be consistent, according to federal law. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the days in your billing cycle can’t vary more than four days from the regular day or the date of your statement. For example, a billing cycle may start on the first day of the month and end on the last day of the month, or it may go from the first Wednesday of one month to the first Wednesday of the next. During your billing cycle, any purchases, credits, fees, and finance charges are posted to your account and added or subtracted from your balance. At the end of the billing cycle, you are billed for all unpaid charges and fees made during the billing cycle. Any activity on your account after the billing cycle ends will appear on your next billing statement. Check your most recent credit card statement or your online account to find your credit card billing cycle. If you need to calculate the number of days in your billing cycle, count the number of days between the beginning and the end of your last billing cycle.
Payment Due Dates
Your credit card payment due date is generally about 21 to 25 days after your billing cycle ends. The time between your billing cycle end date and your billing due date is known as the “grace period.” You typically can pay your balance in full before the end of the grace period to avoid paying interest on your balance. You may not receive a grace period if you didn’t pay your balance in full after your last billing cycle or if you’ve transferred a balance or taken out a cash advance. Your credit card account will be reported to at least one of the three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion. Your credit report includes an overview of your account and details about how you manage your credit card, including your payment history, credit limit, and monthly payment. Your credit card issuer will update your credit report at the end of the billing cycle, which is also your account statement closing date. Your account standing on the last day of your billing cycle is how it will be reported to the credit bureaus. If you want your credit report to quickly show that you have a zero balance on your credit card, pay it off before the last day of your billing cycle. Otherwise, it will take another cycle for a zero balance to show up on your credit report, assuming you don’t charge anything else to your card.
