Credit Card Fees Explained - Finance Charge

If you have a credit card that doesn't have a zero percent interest rate you probably will end up paying finance charge at one point or another.
Finance Charge is a fee the credit card company charges of your card when you have a balance on the card.

You pay the finance charge each month or on each bill that shows a balance on your account. The amount you pay can vary greatly depending on your card's interest rate (APR), how much balance is on the card and how the card company calculated the charge.

You may even see several finance charges on one bill. Perhaps you have a 4.9% interest on certain purchase, maybe there is a increase in interest rated starting at particular date and that finance charge is 15.9%. Each finance charge is itemized on your credit card statement.

If you don't want to pay finance charge you can either go with a card that offers zero interest, but know that often these cards offer this deal for a certain time period and after that a higher interest rate. You can also pay your balance in full. If you pay in full you need to remember to do so before tye grace period each month ends so you do not get tagged with the finance charge.