The amount you owe on your credit card may appear on your statement as one number, but when it comes to how credit card payments work, it gets murkier. Depending how you've used the card, your total debt might be split into separate balances, such as:
- A purchase balance, for things you bought with the card.
- A balance transfer balance, for debts moved to the card from other accounts.
- A cash advance balance, for money withdrawn from ATMs with the card.
These balances may each have different interest rates. When you make a payment on an account with multiple balances, your issuer isn't going to call you and ask how you want it handled. Instead, it will distribute your payment among your balances in a way that conforms to federal law.
How do credit card payments work?
Because of rules specified in the Credit Card Act of 2009, your issuer divides your credit card payment into two parts:
- The minimum payment is the portion of your balance you’re contractually obligated to pay each month. The issuer can apply the minimum to whichever balance it wants. Often, this means the minimum goes toward the lowest-interest balance, rather than your most expensive one.
- The excess payment is everything you pay above the minimum. The Card Act requires issuers to apply this part of your payment to the highest-interest balance first. After that, the remainder generally must be applied to the other balances in descending order, based on the applicable annual percentage rate, according to the law.
How does paying off a credit card work in practice?
| You have a card with the following balances: | ||
| $640 of balance transfers at 0% APR. | $60 of cash advances at 25% APR. | $300 of purchases at 15% APR. |
| Your minimum payment is $25, but you opted to pay $100 instead. Here’s how your issuer might allocate your payment: | ||
| $25, the minimum payment, might go to balance transfers, since it has the lowest APR. | $60 might go to cash advances, which has the highest APR. | $15 might go to purchases, which has the second-highest APR. |
| Before interest charges were added, the remaining balances would be as follows: | ||
| $615 of balance transfers at 0% APR. | $0 of cash advances at 25% APR. | $285 of purchases at 15% APR. |
The exception: deferred interest offers
Most of the time, having your issuer apply your excess payment to the highest-interest balance is the most cost-effective option. But the Card Act makes an exception for deferred-interest offers, often found on store cards and medical cards. That's because leaving those "no interest if paid in full" balances for last can have expensive consequences.
Deferred interest is different from the 0% APR offers you see on bank credit cards. Here's how:
- With a 0% APR card, you are not charged any interest during the 0% period. That interest is waived entirely. Once that period is up, you can be charged interest only on outstanding balances going forward.
- With a deferred-interest offer, by contrast, if you have not paid off the purchase in full at the end of the interest-free period, you will be charged retroactive interest going back to the original purchase date.
Suppose you buy a $1,000 washing machine on a store card that promises no interest on that purchase if you pay it off within 12 months, and 24% APR after that. After 12 months, you’ve only paid off $500. You’ll get charged 24% APR on $1,000 originally borrowed, not the $500 left unpaid.
Now say you have multiple balances on that card — because you continued to use it at the store, making purchases that did not have deferred interest — and have been making only partial payments. In that case, avoiding retroactive interest would be almost impossible. That's because the Card Act requires your issuer to apply most of that money to your highest-interest balances, not your deferred-interest balance.
Enter the Card Act's exception for deferred interest cards. This rule stipulates that in the two billing cycles before a deferred-interest offer expires, the issuer must apply any amount paid over the minimum payment to the deferred-interest balance first. This exception makes it slightly easier to avoid retroactive interest. But it doesn't make you immune from such charges, so stay vigilant. Read your statements and make sure you're on track to pay off your balance on time.
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Avoid credit card payment allocation problems
There are a few ways you can exercise more control over your credit card balances:
Designate one “debt only” card. Move any credit card debt to a 0% balance transfer credit card, if you can qualify for one, and use it as a “just for debt” card. Then, use a separate card for purchases, and pay it off in full each month to avoid interest charges. If you don’t qualify for a balance transfer card, consolidating debt into one personal loan may also be an option.
Pay as much of your bill as you can afford. This ensures that a larger portion of your payment will go toward your most expensive balances. When you pay just the minimum, it allows your issuer to direct your payments to your least expensive debt, prolonging your repayment period.
Trust, but verify. Read your credit card statements closely and make sure your payments are being applied as they should be. If you think there’s a mistake, call your issuer and address the problem as soon as possible.
