Originally Posted by
kebosabi
Oh, I never do a late payment as I process them via my bank's online billpay feature as soon as I get the statement via e-mail. If I get a $1000 statement on card A for the July bill, I'll process payment for $500 for that card to be paid the very next day via online bill pay and setup the remainder for the next month. During that time I don't use that card.
You can continue to use the card without any finance charge as long as you pay your statement balance in full On or Before the due date, the accrued interests are WAIVED so you would not incur finance charge - despite you use the card or not in the interim.
The way the finance charge (interest) works - you incur that IMMEDIATELY you use your card because you are essentially "borrow" money from the card issuer who agree to "finance" your purchase until the payment comes due after each billing cycle. In order to entice you to charge on the card, especially for those who have enough cash to pay upfront, such ACCRUED Interests are WAIVED when you make a full payment of PRIOR Statement balance by the payment due date.
It is the Due Date of Payment that matters though in most cases the due date would fall on next month. There is no need to pay a partial payment before the due date and it would not help you IF you miss the balance of payment by the due date - you would still incur finance charge on ALL charges made during the prior billing cycle.