Maria Adams, Credit Cards Moderator
@m_adams
The Discover minimum payment depends on both the type of your credit card, as well as your credit score. According to the Discover sample terms and conditions, if you have a secured credit card or your credit score is less than excellent, the minimum payment is the greater of:
- Your entire balance, if it is lower than $20
- $20
- $15 plus past due amounts
- 3% of the new balance (plus past-due amounts, but not fees/interest)
According to the Discover sample terms and conditions, if you have excellent credit and you own an unsecured credit card, the minimum payment is the greater of:
- Your entire balance, if it is lower than $35
- $35
- $20 plus past due amounts
- 2% of the new balance (plus past-due amounts, but not fees/interest)
Please note that the Discover minimum payment is not standard for all applicants and may vary.
It’s important to always make at least the Discover minimum payment by the monthly due date. Doing so will keep your account in good standing. There’s no fee for the first late payment. After that, there’s a fee of up to $41 per late payment. And you may suffer credit score damage as well.
A Discover minimum payment will never be more than your full balance. And you’ll only be required to pay your full balance if it’s $20 ($35 for unsecured card holders with excellent credit) or less. But it’s best to try to pay your balance in full each billing cycle. If you don’t, you will lose your grace period, which means interest will start to accrue on new purchases immediately from the purchase date. Credit card interest is really expensive. And it takes paying in full for two billing cycles in a row to get the grace period back.
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