How to maximize the value of your credit card? In addition to the convenience of consumption, credit cards can also bring out more value if used properly. So, how to maximize the value of your credit card? Here are some practical tips, including how to maximize the interest-free period and make the most of your credit card points. _ How to maximize the interest-free period 1. Calculation method of the interest-free period The biggest advantage of a credit card is that the money spent by swiping the card can enjoy the interest-free period, which is equivalent to a short-term bank loan without paying interest. Generally speaking, the interest-free period of a credit card is as short as 20 days and as long as 56 days. Therefore, if you want to fully enjoy the maximum interest-free period of your credit card, you must clearly understand the calculation method of the interest-free period. There are three most critical factors that affect the length of the interest-free period of a credit card: the card payment date, the statement date, and the due payment date. In layman's terms, the card swiping date is the date you swipe your card to make a purchase; the billing date is the date the bank stipulates that the money is credited to your credit card and a bill is formed; and the repayment due date is the date the bank stipulates that you return all the single installments before this date. You can enjoy the interest-free treatment on the date of the bill amount. Generally speaking, the repayment due date is 20 days after the bill date. For example, if the statement date of your credit card is the 5th, then the 25th is the due date of the credit card. We use specific examples to illustrate how the card payment date, billing date, and due payment date affect the length of the interest-free period. Assume that Mr. Jiang holds a credit card from a certain bank. The billing date of the credit card is the 8th of each month, and the due date for repayment is the 28th (8th to 20th). Then, Mr. Jiang will enjoy interest-free periods of different lengths when he uses his card to make purchases on the following days. If you spend 10,000 yuan by swiping your card on August 7, then on the billing day of August 8, the 10,000 yuan will be credited to August (specifically, the billing cycle from July 9 to August 8) The bill should be repaid on August 28. Therefore, the longest interest-free period that Mr. Jiang can enjoy is 21 days. If you spend 10,000 yuan by swiping your card on August 9, because it exceeds the billing date of August 8, then the 10,000 yuan will be recorded in September on September 8 (specifically, from August 9 to September 8th billing cycle), the account should be repaid on September 28th. Therefore, the longest interest-free period that Mr. Jiang can enjoy is 50 days. It can be seen from this that the statement date is a watershed, and it is the key point in determining the length of the credit card interest-free period. If you swipe your card before the bill date, you may enjoy a shorter interest-free period (the closer you swipe your card to the bill date, the shorter the interest-free period); if you swipe your card after the bill date, you may enjoy a longer interest-free period (the closer it is to the bill date, the shorter the interest-free period). The more the card is swiped on the billing day, the longer the interest-free period will be). 2. How to maximize the interest-free period. Example: Take cardholder Xiao Zeng as an example. On September 5th, I have to pay with my credit card to buy an LCD TV. She has two credit cards. One credit card A has a billing date of the 8th, and the other credit card B has a billing date of the 17th. What should Xiao Zeng do if he wants to fully enjoy the bank’s interest-free period? Method - Choose a card and use it Xiao Zeng's two credit cards have billing dates in the early and mid-month respectively, so there is a lot to do in choosing the card. If she must buy an LCD TV on September 5, she should choose B card. Because the bill date of Card B is the 17th, and Xiao Zeng swiped the card for consumption on September 5, the amount was recorded in the current bill on September 17, and October 7, 20 days later, was the due date for repayment. In this case, the interest-free period she enjoys is 32 days (September 5 to October 7). If Xiao Zeng uses Card A for consumption, then the amount will be credited to the single-issue bill on September 8, and the payment will be repaid on the due date of September 28. In this way, she can only enjoy the 23-day interest-free period (September 5 to September 28). Method - Delay consumption Xiao Zeng can also postpone the purchase date of LCD TV to September 9, 4 days later. If you use Card A to make a purchase on September 9, the amount will not be credited to the bill until October 8, and the payment will not be repaid until October 28, so you can enjoy a 50-day interest-free period. It can be seen that purposefully choosing which credit card to use for consumption can enable us to enjoy the bank's interest-free period as long as possible. Therefore, experienced cardholders who are good at managing money will generally apply for three credit cards with different billing dates, and the billing dates of these three credit cards are best in the early, middle and late ten days respectively. In this way, you can always find a suitable credit card when making purchases, allowing you to enjoy the longest interest-free period. Of course, after calculating the maximum interest-free period, you must not ignore the repayment time to avoid affecting your personal credit. _ How to make full use of credit card points. For many cardholders, credit card points are also a small amount of wealth, which can be exchanged for gifts, cash, and airline miles. So, how to make the most of your credit card points? Here are four suggestions. 1. No points for online shopping. According to the survey, according to bank regulations, wholesale transactions, shopping mall installment transactions, automobiles, real estate sales, public schools, hospitals, telecommunications, insurance and other transactions do not count points. In addition, when shopping online, most bank credit cards will not get points. Unless a shopping website and bank credit card jointly organize activities, there will be no points. 2. Use valid time points to swipe your card. The so-called effective time points are when some shopping malls cooperate with banks to double their points during store celebrations or major holidays. In addition, some banks will also offer promotions for doubling points by swiping a certain amount of credit cards during their own bank celebrations. 3. Points can be used to redeem cash. Points from many domestic banks’ credit cards can be used to offset in-store purchases in shopping malls. Compared with redeeming gifts, it is more economical to use points as payment for goods in shopping malls or supermarkets. 4. Redeem airline miles. Many banks have issued some airline co-branded cards. The consumption points of this type of credit card can be exchanged not only for ordinary goods, but also for points and miles of the corresponding airlines. Compared with other commodities, redeeming airline miles is more popular due to its greater practicality.