Credit Card Interest-Free Periods

Credit cards make payments quite easy, and allow users to get amazing rewards and discounts as well. With smart planning, you can get another benefit by saving interest on your card. For this, you would simply need to be aware of the credit card interest-free period for your card by consulting your provider! 

Let’s find out more about how credit card interest-free periods can be beneficial for you and the other aspects of this specific period. 

Credit Card Interest Rates in the UAE - An Overview

A credit card is a financial instrument authorised by financial institutions to help individuals manage their finances. Credit cards in UAE and other parts of the world come with multiple benefits and features. 

To utilise this type of plastic card, you would have to pay certain credit card-related charges in most cases. One such charge includes interest rates. Also called a finance charge, this type of fee is applicable on the outstanding amount of credit cards. 

Here, it’s worth noting that financial institutions levy such finance charges only when you are unable to pay off the lent amount within the given due date. As a cardholder, if you are aware of your credit card interest rates and this specific period, it becomes considerably easy to handle your finances correctly. 

To avoid these interest rates, you can choose to pay off your card’s outstanding amount within the credit card interest-free period. Jump on to the following article section to learn about the interest-free period of credit cards in UAE.  

How to Make the Most of Interest-free Period in Credit Cards?

What is an Interest-Free Period, and How Does Interest-Free Credit Card Work in the UAE? 

The credit card interest-free period also referred to as the grace period, is the tenure between the credit card transactions made by cardholders and the due date of their credit card bills. This grace period is valid till you make your credit card bill payments within the due date. In case you fail to pay off the outstanding amount, the concerned banks or card providers would levy finance charges as discussed above.  

Refer to the point below to find out how you can make a payment plan to take the advantage of the credit card interest-free period.

Make Effective Payments Plan

Credit card payment plan plays a vital role when it comes to paying off the outstanding amount. It is always recommended to pay off a credit card bill as early as possible. Paying the credit card bill at the beginning of your billing cycle lets you enjoy most of your credit card interest-free period.  

Pay Off Your Outstanding Balance

It is advisable to complete credit card payments prior to the due date. Financial institutions levy interest rates on the outstanding amount in case of failed payment within the due date. Similarly, if the previous month’s balance is carried forward to the next month, you would be liable to pay the interest rates charged by the financial institutions.  

Note that certain payment modes, such as cheques, can take up to 1-2 days to process payment and complete the action. So, for instance, if you initiate the payment one day before the due date, you may have to pay 1-2 days’ interest as the payment process would not be completed in the stipulated time. 

In such cases, it is recommended to make online payments. This is because online payments are convenient, fast, and can be completed within a few minutes without any hassle.  

How Does a Credit Card Interest Work?

Restrict Cash Withdrawals Via Credit Cards 

Although banks provide the facility of cash withdrawal via credit cards in UAE, they do not offer an interest-free period upon cash withdrawals. As a cardholder, you would be charged additional fees for withdrawing cash from credit cards even during the interest-free period. So be careful and try not to make cash withdrawals via your credit card if you want to enjoy the grace period.  

Manage Expenses Across Numerous Credit Cards 

Splitting your regular expenses across two or more credit cards can ease your financial management to a great extent. In addition, you can also enjoy the benefit of the interest-free period on your multiple credit cards in UAE. 

Apart from this, you can pay off your bills conveniently without much hassle as the amount gets divided into two or more sections. For instance, let’s assume that you have a ‘Credit card X’ that has a billing date of 5th October and ‘Credit card Y’ that has a billing date of 25th October. To make transactions after 25th October, you can simply use ‘Credit card X’. For transactions after 5th October, on the other hand, you can turn to ‘Credit card Y’! 

How Do Credit Cards Work?