Grace period credit card

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Any self-respecting bank today issues credit cards to its customers. Their main feature is an interest-free or grace period for using the institution's money, or grace-period.

What exactly is the advantage?

Grace period is the time period during which money borrowed from the bank can be returned without interest. The main condition is to do it in full and before the end of the agreed period.

It would seem that a service that is absolutely unprofitable for a bank is a grace period for lending. In fact, today there are quite a lot of optional people. They pay interest and pen alties, providing banks with a profit.

A responsible borrower, having wisely weighed all the pros and cons, will easily use the bank's money, and will make his funds work for himself (by making a deposit at a good interest, for example).

Calculation features

Most of the consumers of banking services do not always delve into the issue and understand the grace period system. Actually, it's easy. Today, banks divide the grace period into two parts. The first is about 30 days and allows you to make transactions on credit. The second, about 20-25 days, is intended for repaymentloan. As a result, it turns out that the grace period can last up to 55 days (depending on the day of purchase).

There are only two lending options offered by banks: the benefit period begins either from the moment the purchase is registered, or from the date that the bank deliberately sets.

If the benefit starts on the date fixed by the bank

If you have a card with a grace period of this type, the period usually starts from the first day of the month or from the moment the card is activated, and it lasts an average of 30 days. Moreover, all transactions are summed up, and before the end of the announced period they must be credited to the bank account.

Such a benefit is considered non-permanent, since, for example, a purchase made towards the end of the month has a shorter interest-free loan term. But the number of payments from month to month is the same. For consumers who make purchases often, this calculation option is most convenient. It is enough to remember the beginning and end of the grace period and the date of the monthly payment. Usually, banks, in accordance with the terms of the grace period, send a monthly electronic statement to the client or an SMS message, which indicates the amount of the debt and the deadline for paying it to the bank.

If the benefit starts from the moment of the transaction

In this case, it would seem, everything is simpler. The period of interest-free repayment of bank funds starts from the date of purchase and lasts an average of 30 days (depending on the specific institution). But if a cardholder with a grace period makes a lot of small purchases, there is a chance of simply getting confused about both the refund amounts and the dates.

Probable Problems

They may occur if the client has ever forgotten to pay off the debt or make the required monthly installment. In this case, the bank will charge interest both for the remaining loan term and for the preferential one. To pay off the debt, you can use one of three ways:

1. Deposit the amount agreed by the bank at any of its branches.
2. Put cash at any ATM to the account of the creditor bank.
3. Make a cashless transfer in any convenient terminal.

Here you need to take into account one nuance. Only the money deposited in the issuing bank (the first option) will be credited to the account on the same day. Payments from other banks may take up to three business days.

There is also such a condition of the institution that issued the credit card as a mandatory payment. This monthly payment is stipulated in the contract and usually does not exceed 10% of the loan amount. Ignoring these payments, even if the borrower pays interest, threatens with pen alties and blacklisting.

Best bank credit cards with grace period

Most credit cards work according to this system: in the first thirty days, purchases are made with borrowed funds, which must be returned in the next twenty days. But there are credit organizations that provide a grace period of up to two hundred days. The main condition that the client must comply with is the monthly payment. It is no more than 5% of the total debt.

Free loans from 60 to 200 days

Avangard bank offers the maximum on a MasterCard or Visa card. It can be received by a client who has not taken a loan or applied for the first time. The monthly fee for such a card is 10%.

If after the seventh month from the date of issue of the card the client does not pay the next installment, the bank charges interest for all 200 days of the grace period. At the same time, the rate will increase from month to month.

The credit limit varies from 10 to 150 thousand rubles and is renewable.

No less advantageous is a card with a grace period (Bank Promsvyazbank) for 145 days. It is issued only to those who applied for the first time and did not use credit cards until that moment. The interest-free period starts from the month the card was issued. Therefore, there will be more opportunities if you get it at the very beginning of the month. The credit limit in Promsvyazbank is 600 thousand rubles. For those who do not comply with the conditions of the bank, the interest rate is 34.9%.

Alfa-Bank's "Gemini" card, which has already gained popularity, is interesting. You can use the money of this institution for free for a hundred days. The card is amazing in that it has two working sides. One is credit, the other is debit. Naturally, the details are different, including the pin code. The credit limit for "Gemini" is up to 300 thousand rubles, and the interest, if you have to pay, is 18.99%.

Curious credit conditions are provided by banks (with a grace period of 60 days on the card) "Uralsib" and "Rosbank". The latter, except for the grace period, makes it possiblebook travel services without being tied to any air carrier. The credit limit varies from 300 thousand rubles to one million, the interest rate is 24.9%.

Uralsib, in addition to the free first year of service, offers discounts at Lukoil gas stations.

The grace period for a Yar-Bank credit card lasts a standard 55 days. With a relatively small percentage (17.5%), you can get up to a million rubles.

One of the favorite credit cards of gamers and admirers of new electronics is Kanobu of Tinkoff Bank. Credit Systems. It has a renewable amount of 700 thousand rubles. But this is not the main thing. When paying with a card on the Kanobu website, the user has a 10% discount, as, by the way, in partner stores selling electronics. Interest beyond the grace period is 23.9. And cash withdrawals from this credit card are relatively inexpensive.

Cash on a credit card? Please

As you know, credit cards are not designed for cashing out. But in the struggle for the client, banks began to make various concessions in issuing money from such cards. All nuances are prescribed in the contract. You need to get to know them carefully. Here are some of them:

• The fee may be higher in a "foreign" ATM.
• Fees for withdrawing your own funds are also not uncommon.
• If a paid option for withdrawing money is connected to a credit card, then there is most likely no commission, but also a grace period.
• Withdrawal limits can be capped per day ormonth. Yes, and you can cash out somewhere the entire limit, and somewhere - a small part.

Best debit card cash withdrawal deals

Today, more and more consumers of banking services order credit cards for cashing out. For such customers, debit cards began to have unique conditions. Check them out below.

Top banks

One of the leaders in this direction is Alfa-Bank. There, the card is issued in two days according to two documents. Equipped with all modern technologies that guarantee safety and ease of use.

This institution has one of the best Internet banking ("Alfa-click"), free SMS alerts, good cashback for purchases that can be made contactless, a significant grace period (cash, by the way, is withdrawn without commission). In partner banks (they are indicated in the contract) there is also a free withdrawal of money. In other banks, the commission will be 1%, but not less than 150 rubles. Credit limit - 750 thousand per month.

Raiffeisen Bank is not far behind with Cash Card. It is issued in one document. The interest rate is 34%. If at the conclusion of the contract you provide a certificate of income, the rate is reduced to 29%. Withdrawing money from a card is free not only at Raiffeisen Bank and Rosbank. One "but" - after cashing out, the grace period ends, and interest is charged on everything.

Debit card "Salary" from Soyuz Bankis issued free of charge and there is no annual service fee. Credit limit - ranging from 5,000 to 300,000 rubles. It is important to consider that Soyuz Bank does not provide a grace period. Interest is charged on own funds. It is issued according to the passport, but only if the client participates in the bank's salary project and his income for the previous three months was more than 10,000 rubles (net). The monthly installment is 10% of the principal with interest, and must be credited no later than the fifth day.

Cash is withdrawn without commission, but no more than 180,000 rubles per day, and no more than 450,000 per month.

"Just a credit card" from CitiBank is a unique banking product. Cash can be withdrawn anywhere in the world for free. There are no fees for annual service either. The percentages are in the middle category - from 13.9 to 32.9%. Grace period - 50 days - does not apply to cash withdrawals. Note to customers: reissuing a card in the office costs 750 rubles, and via the Internet - for free!

The salary program of "RosEvroBank" allows you to withdraw money on any credit card for free. It is issued only to the participant of this program. The annual cost of the card depends on its specification. But the interest rate and credit limit are considered by the bank individually for each client.

What does Sberbank offer

Grace period in this credit institution is up to 50 days. However, in order not to fall under interest, you must carefully study this offer.

The main thing to consider: the grace period starts from the date of application for a card issue, and not from the moment of purchase, as in most banks. This date will be indicated on the envelope with the pin code. It begins with a free fifty-day period for using the bank's funds, twenty of which are considered a payment period. During this period, payments for the reporting month must be made. Thus, the grace period of 50 days is:

• reporting period of 30 days, at the end of which a payment document is generated (it indicates all purchases and the total amount),
• payment period that lasts 20 days.

The scheme for using a Sberbank credit card is approximately as follows:

1. Application for card issue and its activation.
2. Using bank money for 30 days without going beyond the limit.
3. Receipt of a reporting document for completed purchases.
4. Studying the payment date and amount.
5. Repayment of another debt.

There is an opinion that if you withdraw cash from a credit card and return it on time, you will not have to return interest. It is a myth. Sberbank provides a grace period only for cashless payments. As soon as the money is cashed out (a certain commission will be charged for this), interest will accrue on the entire debt. And this is 24%.

If it is impossible to repay the entire required amount, the borrowed funds will accrue interest at the lowest rate, and the client only needs to make the minimum payments. In Sberbank theymake up 5%. If these contributions are not on the account, according to the agreement, fines will be charged, and the interest rate will soar to 38%.

Post scriptum

Money from a Sberbank credit card to another can be transferred in any convenient way through Internet banking, a terminal, a mobile bank. The main thing here is to know that the transferred amount will be equal to a cash withdrawal with all the ensuing consequences.

You can minimize the interest when cashing out funds if you make a transfer through the terminal or the Internet to one of the electronic wallets, and then withdraw from them to a debit card. In this case, the commission will be 1.75%.