Chase Eliminates My Grace Period
Dec 30th, 2006 by Alex
Chase just made an amendment to the terms of my Visa account. According to the summary of changes, “in calculating finance charges, the date when transactions are added to your daily balances and begin to accrue periodic finance charges will be as early as the transaction date.”
What the hell?
In the past, there’s always been a grace period on new purchases. The only exception was if I failed to pay in full at any time, which I haven’t (and is reflected on my credit report). The grace period was sufficiently long for me to pay the bill in full long before the due date on my statement. No more, as of February 1st.
We accrue periodic finance charges on a transaction, fee, or finance charge from the date it is added to your daily balance until payment in full is received on your account.
I rarely use the Visa card and I’ve considered cancelling it in the past, but it is the credit card with the longest history. So this is somewhat unfortunate and I wonder what impact it will have on my credit score. But with that last sentence, Chase has abolished the grace period on new purchases. The choice is clear: Chase either thinks I’m stupid or doesn’t want my business. It’s time to cancel the card.
I received this as well. I have not called yet, but from my searching on google I believe this means that the finance charges begin when the transaction occurs. However, I believe the grace period still exists IF paid in full. You’ll only be charged the finance charges if you do not pay by the end of the grace period. If you do not pay, the finance charges will be charged (and they’re calculated from the time of purchase). Hopefully that makes sense…google it, you’ll find some resources.