Credit cards for long have been known as a financial instrument that offers financial safety to its users. Financial institutions offer credit to you on your credit card to mitigate your current expenditures along with the added benefit of paying for them later. As crucial as they are, it is essentially necessary to be careful of the cards when you already have one. If not properly handled, credit cards can become extremely risky financial products in place of being safe. Thus, before you click on the ICICI credit card apply button to avail a card, ensure to be aware of the crucial terms linked with it.
Even if the financial institution provides credits to you through a credit card, they also ask a favour in return. Post every billing cycle, credit card users must repay the borrowed amount of the past month. If you are unable to do so within the due date, you must bear a high interest on the credit balance amount. Additionally, if you fail to do this for a longer time period, you might be blacklisted, and the card might be deactivated. Thus, it is crucial to clear all your dues on time to avoid the drawbacks of being a card defaulter.
Now, the major question is, how can you review your monthly card dues, and how can you easily track your expenditures? The answer is ‘credit card statement’.
Credit card statement – what is it?
A credit card statement is a billing document that contains details of all the payments, buys, debit, credit transactions etc. Such statements are issued to you at fixed periods and are known to hold all the info linked with your transactions through your credit card. As your credit card statement contains all the info of your transactions, it is crucial to read your statement thoroughly to keep complete track of your expenditures.
What info does a card statement contain?
A card statement contains the listed info:
| Location | Details |
| Top left side | Name, mail address, residential address |
| Understatement of XYZ | Overall due date, payment due date, minimum amount due, credit card limit, available cash limit and available credit card limit. |
| Account summary | Opening balance, purchase/debits, payment/credits, finance charges and overall dues. |
| Past dues | Overlimit, 1 month, 2 months plus, 3 months plus, current dues and minimum amount due. |
| Domestic transactions | Amount, transaction description, date |
| Reward point summary | Opening balance, disbursed, earned, adjusted, and closing balance |
| Credit card offers | Explained, if any |
| Other crucial info | Explained, if any |
Crucial terms you should know.
Let’s have a look and try to understand the meaning of a few of the crucial terms in your credit card statement –
Payment due date: Each of you is bound to settle your outstanding balances within a particular time period which is predetermined by the financial institution. The last date by which your payment can be made with zero additional fees and charges is called the due date. Failure to repay your full card due on time levies not just the late payment fee but also the credit card interest rate on the unpaid due.
Minimum due amount: In case the overall card balance becomes extremely high for you to pay in one go, you can pay your overall outstanding dues partly. The minimum amount out of your overall bill, which you must mandatorily repay, is called the minimum due. In these cases, you must pay an additional finance charge on your outstanding balance, and your late payment fee is waived off.
Credit card limit: Credit card limit is the maximum amount that you can spend on your credit card. The credit card limit is set up by the financial institution based upon the different factors like your income, credibility etc.
Current outstanding balance: It is an amount that you are liable to pay at a given time period. This overall amount of money is known as the current outstanding amount. The outstanding balance is computed based on your past month’s expenditures on your card.
Billing cycle: The time period between the issuance of 2 distinct bills of a specific credit card is called the credit card billing cycle. The billing cycle is decided by the issuer or bank and differs between 20 & 45 days.
Transaction history: As the term suggests, your transaction history refers to all your transaction records made by you through your credit card. Transaction history is a detailed record of all your transactions, which can be accessed by you at any given time.
Rebates and rewards: You get the chance to earn rewards based on using your card for transactions. Such reward points can be utilized by you to avail attractive vouchers or gifts from the bank.
How can you get your card transaction history?
You can get your card statement through both offline and online routes. Here is how:
Get your card statement online
To get an online statement, you need to log into your net banking account. Once you log in, you must find the basic details concerning your card like available credit, unbilled amount, minimum amount due, next due date, current balance etc. You can even download the detailed statement in the PDF version.
Get your card statement offline.
All financial institutions send credit card statements to your registered email ID as soon as your statement is issued. However, as postal transfers aren’t reliable, it is recommended you go through the online mode to get your statement so that you do not miss out on any payment.
Why is it necessary to avail of a credit card statement?
Listed here are crucial reasons as to why a credit card statement is necessary-
∙ Credit card statement is an elaborative summary of your expenditures that you conducted in a month. Such expenditures assist you in understanding where you have spent your money unnecessarily and from where you can simply save your penny. This ultimately allows you to plan out your monthly budget in a better way.
∙ You can avail a detailed record of your month-on-month expenditures in the comfort of your home.
∙ Statements are available at no cost and do not impact your score on fetching one from the issuer. The statement provides additional info regarding new products and services offered by the issuer.
