How to Read your Credit Card Statement | Bankrate

Most experts recommend that you keep paper credit card statements for 60 days. That's the typical window that most credit card companies give ... SkiptoMainContent Weareanindependent,advertising-supportedcomparisonservice.Ourgoalistohelpyoumakesmarterfinancialdecisionsbyprovidingyouwithinteractivetoolsandfinancialcalculators,publishingoriginalandobjectivecontent,byenablingyoutoconductresearchandcompareinformationforfree-sothatyoucanmakefinancialdecisionswithconfidence. Bankratehaspartnershipswithissuersincluding,butnotlimitedto,AmericanExpress,BankofAmerica,CapitalOne,Chase,CitiandDiscover. HowWeMakeMoney. 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Writtenby JoeyRobinson Writtenby JoeyRobinson Creditcardscontributor UpongraduatingwithaBachelor’sdegreeconcentratedinFinance,Joeyworkedat“BigFour”(ErnstandYoung)accountingfirmbeforeexploringtheworldofcreditcards.… JoeyRobinson Oct.25,2021 / 6minread EditedBy MariahAckary Editedby MariahAckary Editor MariahAckaryisapersonalfinancewriterwhospecializesincreditcardrewardsandsmallbusinesscredit.Mariahisalifelongwriter,butshebeganwritingaboutfinancein… MariahAckary ReviewedBy PoonkulaliThangavelu Reviewedby PoonkulaliThangavelu SeniorReporterandPolicyExpert PoonkulaliThangavelu Oct.25,2021 / 6minread Sharethispage Facebooklogo Facebook Twitterlogo Twitter LinkedInlogo LinkedIn email-icon Email BankrateLogo WhyyoucantrustBankrate Moreinfo AtBankratewestrivetohelpyoumakesmarterfinancialdecisions.Whileweadheretostricteditorialintegrity,thispostmaycontainreferencestoproductsfromourpartners.Here'sanexplanationforhowwemakemoney.Thecontentonthispageisaccurateasofthepostingdate;however,someoftheoffersmentionedmayhaveexpired.Termsapplytotheofferslistedonthispage. 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Whatisacreditcardstatement?Payingattentiontoyourpaymentsandevaluatingyourspendingarethebestwaystostayontrackwithyourfinancialgoals.Theeasiestwaytoaccomplishthesetasksisbyreviewingyourmonthlycreditcardstatement,whichisadocumentthatcontainsinformationaboutyouraccountandyourchargesoverthepastbillingcycle(usuallyaone-monthperiod).Bylaw,yourstatementissenttoyouatleastthreeweekspriortoyourpaymentduedate,butyoushouldbeabletofinditavailableatanytimethroughyourbank’swebsite.Readingyourstatementisimportant—itemizedchargeswillhelpyounoticetrendsinyourspending,andyou’llfindimportantinformationregardingyouroutstandingbalanceandothereventsrelatedtoyouraccount.Readontogothroughareal-lifecreditcardstatementandbreakdownhowtointerpretthevarioussections.CreditcardstatementexampleAccountsummaryJoeyRobinson/BankrateTheaccountsummaryprovidesanoutlineofwhereyouraccountstandsandyourbalancetotal.Thiswillincludeyourcurrentbalanceandstatementbalance,theamountofcredityouhaveavailable,anyfeesorinterestyou’vebeenchargedsincethepreviousstatementandthetimeperiodyourstatementcovers.Thissectionmayalsoincludefiguresrelatedtoyourcashcreditline.It’svitaltoknowthatanytransactionsoccurringafterthebillingcycleclosedwon’tbeshownonyourstatement,whichcangetconfusingwhenyou’retryingtocheckyourrecentpurchasesandareinsteadseeingchargesfromweeksago.Theconvenienceofonlinebankingtakesthisworryaway,however,thankstotheabilitytoviewyourrecentactivityatanytime.PaymentinformationJoeyRobinson/BankrateYourpaymentinformationsectionwillprovideyouwithyouroutstandingbalanceandtheminimumpaymentrequiredtoavoidlatefeesorAPRincreases.Hereyou’llalsofindthedateyourpaymentisdue,somarkyourcalendarifyouhaven’talreadysetupautomaticpayments.Payinglessthantheminimumrequirement,ornotgettingyourpaymentinbytheduedate,mayleadtoalatefeeoraspikedinterestrate.Ifyoudomissacreditcardpayment,trytosubmitatleasttheminimumassoonasyoucan.Onceyou’re60daysoverdue,you’llfaceapenaltyinterestrate,andyourdelinquentpaymentwillbereportedtothethreemajorcreditbureaus(Equifax,ExperianandTransUnion),resultinginahittoyourcreditscore.LatepaymentwarningJoeyRobinson/BankrateYou’llalsoseeatotalminimumpaymentwarningonyourstatement,whichcreditissuersmustprovidetoindicatewhereyoustandinpayingoffyourbalance.Thissectionshowshowlongitwouldtaketopayoffyourcurrentbalanceifyouweretomakeonlyminimumpayments.Italsoprovidesyouwithhowmuchinterestyou’llpayduringthattime,givingyouanideaofhowmuchthatpaymentpatternwillactuallycostyou.Creditcardprovidersarerequiredtogiveyouanideaofwhatyou’dneedtopaypermonth—withnoadditionalpurchases—inordertopayoffthebalanceinthreeyears(36months).Thiscomparisonwillshowyouthelong-termsavingsopportunitybybudgetinganduppingyourmonthlypaymentamount,ifpossible.Bankrate’sminimumpaymentcalculatoroffersamorecustomizablewaytoorganizeyourbudget,withtheabilitytoinputyourbalance,rate,minimumpaymentamountandotherfigurestohelpdetermineyouridealpaymentplan.Includedbeneaththeminimumpaymentwarningshouldbeyourcreditcounselingnotice,whichisprovidedasanoptiontoconnectwithanon-profitcreditcounselingagency.Ifmakingyourpaymentsontimeseemstobeapotentiallong-termproblem,don’thesitatetoreachout.Short-termissuescanoftenbesolvedwithaphonecalloremailtoyourcreditissuer,butsomecircumstancesrequireadditionalhelptostartgettingdebtundercontrol.PaymentcouponJoeyRobinson/BankrateYourstatementwillincludeapaymentcouponforyoutoincludeifmailingyourpaymenttoensureit’sappliedtothecorrectaccount.But,ifavailable,utilizingautomatedpaymentsisthebestwaytokeepyourpaymentsconsistent.Thissectionwillalsoincludeyourbank’spaymentaddress,whichmaybeusefultokeephandy.TransactionsfromthebillingperiodJoeyRobinson/BankrateThissectionmaybethemostusefulinformationonyourcreditcardstatement.Hereyoucanfindanitemizedlistofcharges,creditsorpaymentsyoumadeoverthecourseofthebillingcycle.Eachlinewillprovideyouwiththedatethetransactionwasmadeandthedateitwasposted,alongwiththelocation(cityandstate)andthenameofthemerchant.Eachofthesetransactionswillbegivenareferencenumberaswellasthelastfourdigitsofthecardused(intheeventtheaccounthasmultipleauthorizedusers).Ifyouusemobilewallets,you’lllikelyseethephrase“VirtualCard”ratherthanyourlastfourdigits.Mostimportantly,thisbreakdownwillshowtheamountchargedforeverytransactionmade,whichisamustwhencheckingfordiscrepancies.Reviewingthissectioncanhelpyouidentifyareaswhereyouspendtoomuchandplanyourbudget.Noticingtrendsinyourmonthlychargescanbeoneofthefastestwaystodiscoverwhatyoucancutdownon.Plus,it’llgiveinsightintothecategoriesyouspendinmostfrequently,whichisthemostimportantinformationtoknowwhendecidingontherightrewardscard—whetheritbefortravel,airlines,cashback,groceriesoranythingelse.Also,ifyourcreditcardinformationwasstolenwithoutyourknowledgeandisbeingusedtomakesmall,onlinetransactionsthatdon’tseemoutoftheordinary,there’sachanceyourbankmaynotcatchit.Thosechargeswilladdupovertimeandmaybedifficulttodispute,whichiswhycheckingthissectioniscrucial—timeisoftheessencewhenitcomestofindingandreportinganyunauthorizedcharges.Totalinterestandfeesyear-to-dateJoeyRobinson/BankrateYourstatementwillincludeasummaryoftheinterestandfeesyoumayhavefacedinthecurrentyear.Evenanannualfeewillappearhere,sodon’tbealarmedifthissectiondisplaysachargeandyou’vedonenothingtowarrantapenaltyfee.Mostotherfeesareavoidableifyouknowthewaysaroundthem,andyoumaybeabletonegotiatealowerinterestratewithyourbankifyou’recarryingabalance.InterestchargecalculationJoeyRobinson/BankrateYourmonthlyinterestcalculationwillbeshowntowardstheendofyourstatement.Eachtypeofbalanceyouhaveonyourcreditcardcancomewithdifferentinterestrates,whichwillbeshownhere.ThiscanbeusefulwhencheckingonthestatusofanypromotionalorintroductoryAPRperiod,ifyou’relookingintoacashadvanceorwhenyou’reinterestedinexecutingabalancetransfer.ImportantmessagesJoeyRobinson/BankrateYourcreditcardstatementmayincludeanimportantmessagessectiontobriefyouonanychangesthatweremadeduringthebillingperiod,includinganychangesyourequested,suchasacreditlimitincreaseoranyothernotableadjustment.Knowthatwithsomebanks,changestoyouraccountwillbedepictedindifferentsections.Oftentimes,ashiftintheannualfeeoryourinterestratemaybefoundinan“AccountChangesNotification”sectionratherthanhere.Yourcreditissuerisrequiredbylawtoinformyouofallofthesechanges,butitmaytakesomeextrascouringofthedocumenttofindit.RewardssummaryJoeyRobinson/BankrateIt’lldependonyourcreditcard,butifyou’reenrolledinarewardsprogram,you’llfindanoverviewofwhereyoustandattheendofyourstatement.Somestatementsaremoreinclusivethanothers,butgenerallyyouwillfindthepointsyou’veearnedduringthebillingcycleandthetotalrewardsamountavailable.Keepinganeyeonthesepointsisrecommendedwhenplanninganupcomingvacationoranyotherbigexpenseyoumaybeworkingtowards.Howlongshouldyoukeepcreditcardstatements?Mostexpertsrecommendthatyoukeeppapercreditcardstatementsfor60days.That’sthetypicalwindowthatmostcreditcardcompaniesgivecustomerstoreporterrorsontheirstatements,thoughsomeofferlongerperiods.Mostcreditcardcompaniesofferpaperlessstatementsnow,whicharriveasemails.Ifthat’showyouchoosetoreceiveyourstatements,it’sagoodideatobookmarkthoseemailsorsavethemtoaspecialfolder.Youcanusuallyaccesspaststatementsinyouronlinecreditcardaccount,too.Ifyourcreditcardactivityisrelevanttoyourtaxes,(ifyouownasmallbusinessormakecharitabledonationswithyourcard,forinstance),you’llwanttohangontoyourpaperstatementsforlonger—uptosixyears,incaseyou’reaudited.Inthiscase,it’sprobablyagoodideatooptforpaperstatements.Accessingstatementsthatareseveralyearsoldonlinemaybecomplicated. Writtenby JoeyRobinson Creditcardscontributor ReadmoreFromJoey UpongraduatingwithaBachelor’sdegreeconcentratedinFinance,Joeyworkedat“BigFour”(ErnstandYoung)accountingfirmbeforeexploringtheworldofcreditcards.Overthepasttwoyears,he’ssharedhisexpertiseandhasbroughtunderstandingtocomplextopicsasawriterandeditorforsiteslikeBankrate,CreditCards.comandNextAdvisor.Hisadviceonavoidingcommoncreditcardfees,topbalancetransfertacticsandmorefinancialtipshavebeenfeaturedonMSNMoneyandothervariousnewspublications. Editedby MariahAckary Editor Reviewedby PoonkulaliThangavelu SeniorReporterandPolicyExpert Aboutourreviewboard Youmayalsolike Whentopaycreditcardbills Howdocreditcardswork? Howtopayacreditcardbill