How to Read a Credit Card Statement | Discover

Think of a credit card statement as an in-depth summary of how you've used your credit card over the course of a billing cycle. Around once a month, your credit ... Youarehere. CreditResourceCenter CreditCardBasics HowtoReadaCreditCardStatement UpdatedNovember24,2021 Ensuringyouknowtheimportantpartsofcreditcardstatementsisanimportantsteptomakingwisefinancialdecisions.Monthlycheck-inscanensureyourbudgetisontherighttrack,andthattherearenoerrorsorfraudulentchargesthatcouldcostyou.Youwilllikelywanttoreviewanycharges,checkyourcreditscore,andensureanypaymentsarepostingasyouexpect. Tohelpyoubetterunderstandtheterminologycreditcardcompaniesuseandhowspecificnumbersandpercentagesplayintoyourtotalaccountbalance,followoureasy-to-readguide. Pleasenote,thisisjustaDiscovercreditcardstatementexample.Notallstatementswilllookthesame,buteachtypically willincludethesamebasicinformation. WhatisaCreditCardStatement? UnderstandingYour MonthlyCreditCardStatement UnderstandingYourCreditCardStatementBalance UnderstandingYour Year-EndCreditCardStatementSummary 1.WhatisaCreditCardStatement Thinkofacreditcardstatementasanin-depthsummaryofhowyou’veusedyourcreditcardoverthecourseofabillingcycle.Aroundonceamonth,yourcreditcardissuerwillsendanewstatement—oftenseveralpageslong—packedwithimportantdetailsaboutyourtransactionhistory,paymentduedates,andmore.Somecreditcardstatementsalsoincludeinformationaboutyourcreditscore. Yourmostrecentcreditcardstatementshouldbeavailableatanytimethroughyourbank’swebsite,andkeepinmindthatstatementsarerequiredbylawtobesentatleasttwenty-onedaysbeforepaymentisduepertheOfficeoftheComptrollerofCurrency.Tokeeptrackofpaymentsandmonitoryourcreditscore,it’sbesttogivecreditcardstatementsaclosereadeverybillingcycle. 2.UnderstandingYour MonthlyCreditCard Statement AccountInformation: Thisincludesthelastfourdigitsofyouraccountnumberandtheopenandclosingdatesthiscreditcardstatementappliesto. AccountSummary: Thissectionsummarizesyourtransactionsforthisstatement,includingyourpaymentsandcredits,purchases,interestcharged,feescharged,balancetransfers,andcashadvances. CreditLine: Yourcreditlineisyourspendinglimit.Interestandfeesmayreducetheamountofyouravailablecreditline. CreditLineAvailable: Thisnumberindicatestheamountofcreditthatisstillavailabletoyou.   NewCreditCardStatementBalance: Thisistheamountofcredityouhaveborrowedandhavetopayoffplusanyfinancecharges,asofthestatementclosedate.   MinimumPaymentDue: Youmustpayatleastthismuchbythepaymentduedate.Youmayalwayspaymorethantheminimum,uptothetotalbalance.   PaymentDueDate: Ifyoudon’tpayatleasttheminimumpaymentbythisdate,youwillbechargedalatefee.Dependingonyourcreditcardterms,yourinterestratemayalsoincrease.   FICO®CreditScore: YourFICO®CreditScoreisathree-digitnumberthatsummarizesthepositiveandnegativeinformationonyourcreditreport.* Itis usedbylenderstoquicklyassessyourcreditrisk,anditcaninfluenceeverythingfromcarloanstomortgagestocreditcards.   Rewards/CashbackBonusBalance: Thecashbackamountyouhaveaccruedpreviously,andhowmuchyouhaveaccumulatedinthebillingperiod.   PaymentCoupon: Alltheinformationnecessarytopayyourbillrepeatshere.Includethiscouponwithyourcheckifpayingbymail.   Transactions: Inthissection,you’llfindalistofallyourtransactions,orchargesandpayments,thatyou’vemade,intheorderofthedatetheyoccurred.   InterestChargeCalculation: Here,you’llfindtheAPRsthatcurrentlyapplytoyouraccount,thebalancessubjecttothoserates,andtheinterestcharges. 3.UnderstandingYourCreditCardStatementBalance Yourcreditcardstatementbalancereflectswhatyouoweyourcardissuerasoftheaccountclosingdate,whichiswhenonebillingcycleendsandyourbalanceisreportedtocreditbureaus.Remember:acreditcardstatementbalanceisjustasnapshotofonebillingcycle.Your current balance,ontheotherhand,ismoreofalivefeedofyouraccountinformation.Itcommonlyshowsadifferentamountthanyourcreditcardstatementbalancebecauseoftransactionsmadeandfeeschargedsinceyourlaststatementwaspublished. Yourcreditcardstatementbalanceisthenumberyoushouldpayoffeverymonthtoavoidinterestfees.Lookoutforthatpaymentduedateandconsidersettingup AutomaticBillPay toavoidmissingit. 4.UnderstandingYour Year-EndCreditCardStatementSummary Thefirststepinlearninghowtoreadyouryear-endsummaryistofindyoursummaryonline.IfyouareaDiscovercardholder,logintoyouraccountat Discover.com.ThengotoAccountActivityandselect“YearEndSummary(Annual)”fromtheAccountPerioddrop-downmenu. AccountInformation: YourYearEndSummaryStatementincludesthename,addressandphonenumberassociatedwiththecreditcardaccount.You’llalsoseealinethatincludesthelastfourdigitsofthecreditcardaccountnumber. YearEndSummaryStatement: Astheyearrollstoaclose,thissectionsummarizesthetotalamountofyourpurchases,cashadvancesandbalancetransfersfortheyear.Thesefiguresmaynotreflectyourcurrentbalance,buttheycanofferahelpfulviewofcreditcardactivitiesduringthepast12months. SortingYourTransactions: Sortingyourtransactiontotalscanofferausefuloverviewofyourspendingpatterns.Itcanalsoallowyoutoseewhereyou’reontrackwithyourbudgetandwhereyoumayneedwork. Youcansortyourtransactionschronologicallybytransactiondateorpostdate,orbytransactiondescription,amountorcategory. Forexample,sortingyourpurchasesbycategorymayshowyouthatyouspentmorethanyouthoughtonrestaurantmeals.Categorizingyourtransactionsbydatecouldshowthatyouspendalotmoreontheweekendsthanyoudoduringyourworkweek.Thiscouldbeagreatwaytoidentifyareaswhereyoucanshiftyourhabitsandsavemoney. TaxesandExpenses: Thesortingfeatureshelpyoufindpotentiallytax-deductibleexpenses,likemedicalbillsormovingcosts,quicklyandeasily.Thiscanbeparticularlyhelpfulforasmallbusinessowneroraself-employedfreelancerusingonecreditcardforbusinessexpenses—theycantrackbusiness-relateddeductionsviatheyearendcreditcardsummary. Thoughitmaylooklikejustanotherstatement,youryear-endcreditcardsummaryisfullofvaluableinformationthatcanhelpyouattaxtimeandbeyond. ShareThis Opensinanewwindow Toggle Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Taggedin CreditCardPayments CreditDefinitions HowTo TopStories HowDoesInterestWorkonaCreditCard? Everwonderedhowcreditcardinterestworks?MasteringyourfinancesandunderstandinghowAPRsareassessedandcompoundedcangiveyoutheupperhandin… Whatdoespre-approvedmeanforacreditcard? Findouthowyoureceivepre-approvedcreditcardoffers,whattolookforandhowyoucanopt-out. WhenCanYouGetaCreditCard? It'stheclassiccatch-22forastudent.Youneedtohavecredittogetcredit.Learnhowtogetacreditcardevenifyouhavenocredithistory. MorefromDiscover EstablishingCredit WhenCanYouGetaCreditCard? It'stheclassiccatch-22forastudent.Youneedtohavecredittogetcredit.Learnhowtogetacreditcardevenifyouhavenocredithistory. EstablishingCredit WhatCreditCardDoIQualifyFor? Discoverhasafast,simple,andsecureonlinepreapprovaltooltohelpyoucheckoffersspecifictoyou,withouthurtingyourcreditscore. DiscoverRewards&Benefits EarnTwicetheCashBackorMilesYourFirstYearwithDiscoverCashbackMatch DoyouknowaboutDiscover'scashbackprogram?ThesefreerewardsforeligibleDiscovercardmembersletyouearncashbackfromusingyourDiscovercard… TypesofCreditCards Whatdoespre-approvedmeanforacreditcard? Findouthowyoureceivepre-approvedcreditcardoffers,whattolookforandhowyoucanopt-out. × Wonderingwhichcreditcardisrightforyou? FindOutNow Back× Tellusaboutyourcreditscore What'syourcreditlike? Great (740-850) GoodtoFair (580-739) Buildingcredit (Lessthan580) I'mastudent (Newtocredit) Idon'tknow Back× Tellusaboutyourgoals Whatkindofcarddoyouwant? Cashbackcard Travelcard Back× Let'stalkrewards Howdoyouliketoearn? Inrotatingcategories RestaurantsandGasStations Unlimitedflatraterewards Back× Nice!Didyouknow... Ourstudentcardshavegreatcashbackrewardsandbenefits That'sawesome Studentscanusetheircardsaftergraduation,too. Back× Speakingofrewards... Howdoyouliketoearn? Inrotatingcategories RestaurantsandGasStations StartthequizOver× Wethinkyou’dlikethiscashbackcard:Discoverit®5%Cashback Discoverit®5%CashBack Seeifyou’repre-approvedwithnoharmtoyourcredit CheckNowopensinnewwindowExploreMoreCardsopensinnewwindow StartthequizOver× Wethinkyou’dlikethisstudentcard:Discoverit®StudentCashback Discoverit®StudentCashBack Seeifyou’repre-approvedwithnoharmtoyourcredit CheckNowopensinnewwindowExploreMoreCardsopensinnewwindow StartthequizOver× Wethinkyou’dlikethisstudentcard:Discoverit®ChromeforStudents Discoverit®ChromeforStudents Seeifyou’repre-approvedwithnoharmtoyourcredit CheckNowopensinnewwindowExploreMoreCardsopensinnewwindow StartthequizOver× Wethinkyou’dlikethiscashbackcard:Discoverit®Chrome Discoverit®Chrome Seeifyou’repre-approvedwithnoharmtoyourcredit CheckNowopensinnewwindowExploreMoreCardsopensinnewwindow StartthequizOver× Wethinkyou’dlikethistravelcard:Discoverit®Miles Discoverit®Miles Seeifyou’repre-approvedwithnoharmtoyourcredit CheckNowopensinnewwindowExploreMoreCardsopensinnewwindow StartthequizOver× Wethinkasecuredcardisrightforyou:Discoverit®Secured Discoverit®Secured Seeifyou’repre-approvedwithnoharmtoyourcredit CheckNowopensinnewwindowExploreMoreCardsopensinnewwindow × Findingtherightcardforyou... × Yourcardrecommendationshould’veopenedinanewwindow. Ifyoudon’tseeit,youcanusethislink: StartthequizOver × Wonderingwhichcardisrightforyou?TaketheQuiz > FindOutNow