At a time when the credit card penetration rate exceeds 85% and the average number of cards per person is 4.3, cardholders are falling into a vicious circle of “the you swipe, the poorer you got”: data from the central bank show that in the first quarter of 2025, the total amount of credit card payments overdue for half a year reached 98 billion yuan, of which 75% was caused by the compound interest generated by “minimum repayment + installments”. Even serious is that the annual report of a leading bank shows that the annualized interest rate range of its credit card business is 12.77%-18.25%, and the actual interest rate borne by some users even exceeds 24%. This article will help you crack the credit card interest black hole from the three dimensions of interest calculation logic, repayment strategy, and risk prevention and control, so as to achieve “zero cost” card use.
Tolerance for time and error “word game”
Grace period: The bank provides a 3-day grace period, but the “full repayment” condition must be met. If only the minimum amount is paid, it is still considered overdue and penalty interest + liquidated damages (usually 5% of the outstanding amount) will be charged.
Tolerance amount: Most banks allow no interest on arrears of less than 10 yuan, but some banks (such as Pufa and Minsheng) will include the tolerance amount in the next bill and accrue interest from the date of account entry.
The “interest rate illusion” under the sweet talk
Banks often use rhetoric such as “monthly handling fee of 0.6%” and “interest-free installment” to induce users, but the actual annualized interest rate far exceeds the advertised value. For example, 10,000 yuan is divided into 12 installments with a monthly fee rate of 0.6%, which seems to be an annualized 7.2%, but the actual annualized interest rate is as high as 13.29% (because the principal decreases every month but the handling fee remains unchanged).
The longest interest-free period for Bank Cards can be than 50 days. The key to operation is: Consumption on the day after the billing date: arrange large expenses (such as home appliances and travel) on the first day after the billing date, and the repayment date will be automatically postponed; Modify the billing date: Call the bank 3 days before the repayment date to postpone the billing date (such as from the 5th to the 25th), and the repayment date will be moved back at the same time, and strive for an additional 20 days of interest-free period.