What to look for and where to find it.
Your credit card statement can be a valuable tool to help you keep track of your spending, manage your account, and protect your credit score. As part of an ongoing effort to make our communications clear and easy to understand, we’ve made it easy for you to check your statement every month with a simple, easy-to-read format.
Account Summary
This is snapshot of your overall account activity for that statement billing period. You can find important information, such as your statement balance totals by transaction category, total fees and interest for the statement period, your total credit line, cash credit line, and the portion of credit available. (Be careful not to exceed your total credit line; if you do, your transactions may be declined.)
Payment Information
To keep your account in good standing, you must make at least your total minimum payment by your payment due date each month. Use this section of your statement to find your total account balance, as well as the total minimum payment due and any past due amounts. It’s a good idea to check here to make sure your payments are completely up to date.
You’ll also find your payment due date here. Going forward, your payment due date will fall on the same date each month. But remember, if your payment is received even one day late, you will be assessed a late fee. Please note the “Late Payment Warning” notice that is also included in this section. We’ve included this so you can understand the consequences of missing a payment due date (like being charged a late fee or a possible increase in your APR.) This notice will appear on every statement, even if you always pay your bill on time.
Minimum Payment Warning
This might sound alarming, but in reality the information you will find here may be extremely helpful if you’re asking yourself how much it will cost—and how long it will take—to pay off your balance if you make only total minimum monthly payments.
If it will take more than three years (36 months) to pay off your balance when making only the total minimum payment, this section will reflect an optional monthly payment figure that would enable you to pay off your current statement balance within three years.
NOTE: This information will fluctuate as your statement balance changes.
Updated Account Terms
You received a copy of your Credit Card Agreement when you were approved for your credit card, but over time there can be updates to that agreement. Those updates can be provided in a few different ways; by mail, as an additional insert in your statement, or now on page one of your actual statement. Look here for important news like a change in your rates. (Note that you may be able to opt out of certain rate increases as long as you respond by a certain date, and agree to stop using the card. We will always provide you with at least 45 days advance notice of any proposed rate increases.)
Transactions
The transaction section of your statement is where you can find the detailed information about how you used your card for that statement billing period. Within this section, you will see your account activity organized by transaction dates and categories. We’ve also included subtotals for each category. Note: If you see a transaction you don’t recognize, you may want to contact the merchant immediately to ensure that it is a valid charge. The merchant’s phone number may be located on your receipt or billing statement. If you are unable to resolve the issue with the merchant, you may want to consider initiating a dispute for that charge.
Also within the transaction section, you will now see categories dedicated to highlighting the Fees and Interest you’ve been charged for that statement billing period.
The Fees Charged section lists the fees by transaction that occurred during the statement period.
The Interest Charged section summarizes interest by transaction category during the statement period.
Totals Year-to-Date
To ensure that you are always aware of the costs associated with your credit card, this section provides you with a cumulative total of the fees and interest accrued on your account.
Important Messages
The information you will find in this section is specific to how you’ve managed your account, such as account payments, performance and more.
Interest Calculation
We know that customers always have a lot of questions about their interest rates – this section of the statement will show you the answers. The easy-to-read chart shows the APR and interest charges for each transaction category.
There are four transaction categories; Purchases, Balance Transfers, Direct Deposit and Check Cash Advances, Bank Cash Advances and each could potentially have a different APR.
A Bank Cash Advance is when you use your account for a loan, such as when you withdraw cash at an ATM, transfer funds from your credit card for Overdraft Protection or use your credit card for money orders. Since only a portion of your Total Credit Line is available for Bank Cash Advances, it’s important to keep track of the remaining amount that you can use for Bank Cash Advances.
Direct Deposit and Check Cash Advances is a new category of cash advances that includes writing access checks or transferring funds directly from your credit card to a deposit account.
If you have promotional rates on your account, the Interest Charge section also notes the balance within each promotional offer and the expiration date of that offer.
Rewards
If you have a credit card with rewards, you can look here for a summary of your rewards information, such as your points earned during that statement period and your total number of available points for redemption.
Of Special Interest
On this section of your statement you can find additional information on how you can make the most of your account. Be sure to check this each time you get a new statement, as the messages and offers change monthly. For those customers who have “gone paperless” you’ll find all of these changes reflected in your online statement. Simply login to Online Banking, click on your credit card account, and choose the “My Statements” tab to view, print, and download a copy of your enhanced statement.
Whatever method you choose—online or paper—staying on top of your statement every month will make it easier to manage your finances.
What's next? Reducing the cost of credit
