What is a grace period for credit card payments?

A grace period for credit card payments is a specified period of time between the end of a billing cycle and the due date for a payment. During this grace period, credit card holders in California do not have to make a payment if they do not want to. They may, however, choose to make a payment during this grace period and still pay no interest. Generally, the grace period lasts until the payment due date, which is usually between 21 and 25 days after the end of the billing cycle. The grace period is provided to give consumers a chance to save up enough money to make the payment before incurring any late fees or interest charges. Credit card holders are still, however, required to make at least the minimum payment due by the due date in order to avoid having the payment considered delinquent and any resulting late payment fees. It is important to remember that the grace period applies to purchases, not balance transfers or cash advances. If a credit card holder makes a balance transfer or cash advance, he or she will not have a grace period and will be required to pay the balance in full by the due date. Moreover, if the credit card holder made a purchase during the billing cycle and a balance transfer or cash advance in the same cycle, the grace period will only apply to the purchases.

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