What Happens If I Pay Only The Minimum Due On Cards?

credit card

You may feel tempted to pay the small minimum amount due on your credit card, but it may cost you much more later. When you receive your credit card bill, you may come across three amounts that require clearance: 

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  • The minimum due – The minimum due amount is the minimal amount you need to pay monthly. This way, you stay in good standing with your credit card account. 
  • The statement – The statement balance is the total balance of your billing cycle for a particular account.
  • The current balance – The current balance is the balance you need to pay for your recent bills and charges.

Experts say paying the statement balance is important to stay out of the debt cycle. But as sometimes, it is not possible, you can make a credit card minimum payment. It will help you avoid any penalties or late payment charges. But before going for this option, know all about it and what happens to your credit card account when you clear the minimum due.

How to calculate credit card minimum payment?

Banks evaluate minimum payments differently. Usually, banks set a base amount as the minimum payment, and every customer needs to pay this amount.

But, if your statement balance credit card limit increase, the minimum payment becomes the total amount. For instance, if the bank sets the minimum amount as Rs. 2,000 but your balance is Rs. 1,200, your statement balance becomes the minimum payment – Rs. 1,200.

What happens when you pay the minimum amount?

While making the minimum payment is essential, carrying the remaining amount monthly is optional because it will rack up interest charges and pose a threat to huge debt.

As per the Credit Card Act of 2009, credit card companies should include a minimum payment warning on every billing statement. It is present as a table on your credit card statement. Check out the table as it tells you the time to clear out the balance and the amount you need to pay along with interest, in case you have just paid the minimum.

The result of clearing the minimum payment is expensive. Hence, clearing the credit card balances in full every month is always suggested to prevent such high-interest charges.

For a better understanding, let’s clear out the pros and cons of minimum payment:

Pros:

  • A minimum due payment facility is one of the credit card benefits because, with it, you can continue using your card for the available credit limit. So keep your card active by paying the minimum due on your credit card.
  • Bank will not mark your payment as a default when you pay the minimum due amount
  • Minimum due helps you avoid late payment fees

Cons:

  • When you only clear the minimum amount, the remaining balance is carried forward to the next month along with the interest amount.
  • Credit card companies may charge you a heft interest rate on the credit card due amount.

How can you pay your credit card minimum payment?

Credit card payment involves discipline, and you need to have good calendar and calculation skills. Managing the due payment dates efficiently is an excellent way to make smart payments. Other methods to pay the credit card bills are:

  • Snowball method – Pay the credit card bill of the card with the lowest balance
  • Avalanche method – Clear the minimum credit card payments with the highest interest rates

You can also try making multiple payments every month. You can make small payments week after week to make it less burdensome for you. So instead of making one big payment at the end of the tenure, you can create multiple small payments to clear off your credit card minimum payment.

Wrapping Up

Paying the complete balance is always the right idea; sometimes, you have limited cash and can only make the minimum payment. For such situations, it is OK to make the minimum payment, but in the long term, it will cost you a lot. 

Once you have the money to clear your balance, ensure you always pay it off ultimately. And, even with bare means, you should try to pay more than the credit card minimum payment.

If you find it tough to clear your balance, assess your cash flow and spending habits and make space to cut costs. 

You can also get a lifetime free credit card with 0% APR on the latest purchases or choose to use a scheme of balance transfer credit cards with zero interest for a specific period.

And lastly, if you’re tight on budget, restrict your expenses for some time and manage your credit card usage appropriately.

By Christopher

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