Bottom line on new terms for Discover Card?

[Stephen Tashiro]

I received a notice about the changes to the "terms and conditions" for Discover Card. It mentions a 25 day period before interest is charged on a purchase. The billing period is about 30 days. So if I pay my bill when it's due, will I now be charged interest on the purchases early in the billing period?

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I would suggest contacting the fine folks with Discover and ask them.

I trust the internet legal experts about as much as I trust jail bird lawyers.

[Dan Hintz]

Stephen,

I believe if you read it more closely it most likely states the interest charges begin 25 days after the end of the billing cycle the item was purchased in.

[Brian Elfert]

These sound like the legally required payment and interest terms on all credit cards now. I am surprised you didn't get updated terms and conditions before now as the changes went into effect in August.

[Rich Stewart]

I got lots of stuff from my credit card co. Trouble is, I can't read it because it is too small. And even if I could see it to read it, I probably wouldn't understand it.

[Bill Cunningham]

A 'credit' card is a great business tool.. I use a no fee MasterCard that gives me Air miles. It has a 21 day grace period and when I pay the full balance when the bill comes in there is never a interest charge. I use my Mastercard rather than my Visa for two reasons #1 I get no AirMiles from Visa, #2 The billing cycle ends on the 16th. so, if I buy something on the Oct. 17th, I don't get the statement for that until the Nov. 20th, and it does not have to be paid until Dec. 6 or 7th . You get to use the banks money all that time for free.. A lot of companies also charge your credit card on 30 days, not when the purchase was actually made. So you get to use the banks money for up to 90 days interest free.. I put several thousand a month on my card, so even the Airmiles ad up 1 for every 20 bucks, and that's a totally free bonus..
The whole thing you have to remember, it's a 'credit card' NOT a Finance card. If you can't afford it, never put it on a credit card. I don't know how badly they rip you off in the U.S. as far as interest charges would be, but here it averages 17-18% for Visa/MasterCard, and store cards are always up about 28-29%

[Rich Engelhardt]

I use my Mastercard rather than my Visa for two reasons #1 I get no AirMiles from Visa

Dump that Visa & get one that offers some type of reward.
Amazon, for one, has a good reward system if you buy online from Amazon.
A CC you don't use is now(more than ever before) is working against you.
It's viewed as a potential unsecured debt if/when you apply for a loan.
(+1 to everything else Bill says)

[Dan Hintz]

I use my Discover for the same reason as Bill... 1% back guaranteed on all purchases, and up to 5% back on certain categories that rotate throughout the year (restaurants for a few months, then home improvement or electronics stores, etc.).

I've probably made $20k in purchases the last two months, so that's a minimum of $200 back in my pocket, probably closer to $400 considering where I've purchased from and the deals.