GREENSBORO, N.C. — The holidays are approaching, but chances are you are still paying off debt from last year. A Credit Card Insider survey reports 22% of respondents said they're still in debt from the 2019 holiday season. A large part of that debt can come from store credit card interest rates.
To help you charge smart, Senior Credit Industry Analyst Nathan Grant joined 2WTK to answer your questions about credit card debt and the holiday season.
Typically, the interest rates on store credit cards are higher than a regular credit card. For example, the APR, annual percentage rate, of a TJ Maxx card is 26.99%. A COSTCO Anywhere VISA card has an APR of 15.24%.
Credit card insider surveyed shoppers to see what payment methods people use most.
57% use credit cards
34% use their debit card
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According to the Credit Card Insider article:
And, here’s a little-known fact that’s working for you in the background: Most credit cards come with a grace period for purchases.
A grace period is a time between when your statement period ends and your billing due date. During that period, your purchases from the previous statement won’t accrue interest as long as you’ve been paying your balance in full each month. So again, it’s important to not spend money you don’t have, in order to ensure you’ll be able to clear your balance each and every month.