How your grace period lets you avoid paying interest on a credit card
A grace period is an interest-free period on your card balance.
Raina is a freelance personal finance writer and editor whose work has appeared in CNET Money, Newsweek Vault, NextAdvisor with TIME (now merged with CNET Money), MarketWatch, Forbes Advisor and more. Prior to working freelance, she was a staff editor at CNET Money.
She loves to write about personal finance because she firmly believes that financial literacy can help people create more opportunities in their life -- whether that's through saving money for specific goals, using credit card rewards to stretch their dollars further, or being prepared for unexpected financial turbulence. A Saint Louis native, she's currently traveling around the world and documenting her adventures (and advice) on Instagram and TikTok under the handle @rainainwanderland for both.
My first job out of college, as staff editor at a personal finance news site, gave me a crash course in managing money and showed me that financial literacy shouldn’t be a chore. Learning about how to build the life you want using the resources that you have is empowering and a genuinely useful life skill, and I'm so glad I had the chance to learn it as a young adult.
— Raina He
A grace period is an interest-free period on your card balance.
The number of cards that’s right for you depends on how many you can easily manage.
Secured credit cards require a cash security deposit upfront.
Cash back, points or miles? The right choice depends on your lifestyle and spending.
If your credit card issuer asks for an income update, you can choose how to respond.
If you’re a credit-builder or small-business owner, our WebBank guide will show you which WebBank card might be a good match for you.
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