Any other thoughts - how do you guys plan it?
My Perspectives
I keep a
very simple strategy for paying my credit card bills - about 10-15 minutes each month.
Billing and Payment Due Dates for My Credit Cards
In my case, for all (3) my credit cards,
the billing date is same/similar - 1st or 2nd of every month.
Also, the
payment due date is then around 21st/22nd of each month.
Reason for Opting for 1st/2nd of Each Month as Billing Date
I opted for choosing 1st or 2nd of every month as the billing date with my own rationale and preferences, summarised below:-
* It aligns with the monthly expenditure cycle, making it
easier to track the monthly expenses - through credit cards or otherwise.
* Also, it precludes any confusion regarding accruing and/or cappings of Reward Points (RPs) - whether they are based on calendar month or billing cycle, as if the billing date is on 1st or 2nd of every month then the
billing cycle and the calendar month are aligned.
* Since the salary has already been credited at the end of the prior month, so, by 1st or 2nd I am exactly
aware of all my impending credit card payments for that month. Therefore, I can
monitor and temper my expenditure for that month accordingly.
* Also, I avoid any major expenditure on 1st and 2nd of every month, so that I can "see" some money in the bank account before the expenditure ball starts rolling wef 3rd of every month. This
generates a feel-good psychological factor, albeit short-lived.
Payment Methodology
* Since the payment due dates are around 21st/22nd, so on the 2nd/3rd Sunday of every month (or say
around 16th - 18th of every month), I just sit down for 10-15 minutes and make all my payments (for Infinia and BPCL SBI Octane) through my HDFC Banking app. For Amex Plat Travel, I use PhonePe app.
* All the payments are made in full. So, nothing is pending and nothing is rolled over to next month.
This is how I make my payments. So far, this plan has worked smoothly without any hiccups.
Hope this helps.
🙂
PS. There is another thread on this subject.
You can see that thread here: holding-multiple-credit-cards-share-your-payment-strategy-to-avoid-missed-payments.
