₱0
interest on purchases when you pay the whole statement balance by the due date — and you didn’t carry a balance last month.
Interactive guide · 6 min
Credit card interest, decoded.
Banks print the rules in a table of fees and a worked example few people read. We turned both into something you can play with — change the amounts, the rate and how you pay, and watch the interest move.
The one number to know
3%a month
0.1%
every single day
42.6%
a year, if it compounds
Monthly rate on retail purchases and cash advances in a typical Philippine bank’s fee table. Your card’s rate is on your Statement of Account.
The 30-second version.
Six facts from the fee table that decide almost everything you’ll pay.
Daily
Interest counts days
3% ÷ 30 = 0.1% of what you owe, for every day you owe it. Paying a week earlier saves real pesos.
Day 1
Cash advance has no grace
Interest starts the day you withdraw, on the cash plus its ₱200 fee. Paying in full doesn’t erase it.
₱850
Late payment charge
Or your unpaid minimum due, whichever is lower.
3% or ₱850
Minimum amount due
Whichever is higher. It keeps you out of late fees — not out of interest.
Pay part of one bill, and the next month you pay interest even after clearing everything.
In the bank’s own example that “trailing” interest is ₱386.41.Play with it
The bank’s own example, now with knobs.
It starts exactly like the sample on the fee table: a ₱10,000 cash advance on Jan 2, a ₱10,000 purchase on Feb 2, statements on the 1st, due dates on the 25th.
+ ₱200 cash advance fee, charged interest too
≈ 42.6% a year when it compounds · 0.1% a day
Interest paid₱1,553.887.8% of what you spent
Fees₱200.00cash advance ₱200
You pay in total₱21,753.88for ₱20,000 of spending
Debt-free onMay 25after 4 payments
Feb 1Jun 1
Same spending, four ways to pay
Statement by statement
Pick a month to see how its interest was counted.How the Mar 1 interest was counted₱284.45
23 days
5 days
- Feb 2 – Feb 24₱10,516.20 × 3% ÷ 30 × 23 days = ₱241.87whole balance, until your payment
- Feb 25 – Mar 1₱8,516.20 × 3% ÷ 30 × 5 days = ₱42.58what was left after you paid
Formula from the fee table: amount owed × monthly rate ÷ 30 × number of days. Purchases made during a statement period aren’t charged interest in that period. A simplified model for learning — your bank’s statement is the final word.
Every line of the fee table, in plain words.
Everyone paysOnly if you carry a balanceAvoidable
Membership fee
₱150–250 /moJust for having the card: ₱1,800–3,000 a year depending on the tier. Ask for a waiver — banks often agree.
Supplementary card
₱75–125 /moFor each extra card for family. The first one is often free for life.
Monthly interest rate
3.00%On purchases you don’t pay in full and on every cash advance, counted daily.
Minimum amount due
3% or ₱850Whichever is higher, plus any installment due, overdue amount and over-limit amount.
Cash advance fee
₱200Per withdrawal, plus interest from day one. Foreign ATMs may add their own fee.
Late payment charge
₱850If you pay less than the minimum by the due date. Or the unpaid minimum, if lower.
Paying abroad or online in another currency
1% + 1.5%Cross-border fee plus conversion fee — about ₱250 on every ₱10,000. Applies to foreign shops charging in pesos too.
Gambling or gaming
5% or ₱500Of the amount, whichever is higher — before any interest.
Installment availment fee
₱100–350One-off, when you convert a purchase, a balance or cash into monthly installments.
Installment processing fee
5% or ₱500Of the remaining balance, whichever is higher, if an installment plan is ended early.
Returned check / failed auto-debit
₱1,250Each time a check bounces or your auto-debit account is short.
Lost card replacement
₱400Per card; ₱250 for a virtual card. ₱2,500 to deliver one overseas.
Small print you’ll rarely meet
₱300 / ₱500 — copy of a local / international sales slip₱30 — reprint of a Statement of Account1% or ₱100 — refund of a credit balance, whichever is higher₱2,500 — card delivery overseas
Figures from a major Philippine bank’s published table of fees and charges, revised September 2026. Banks change fees; check your own card’s terms.
Four ways the 3% switches on.
Any one of these, and that month’s statement carries interest.
- You paid nothing by the due date.Plus the ₱850 late payment charge.
- You paid less than the full balance.Even paying the minimum on time — interest runs on the whole amount until the day you pay.
- You paid in full, but last month you didn’t.Trailing interest for the days until your payment arrives.
- You took a cash advance.From the day of withdrawal, no matter how you pay.
“On time” means posted, not sent.
Same banking day
Your bank’s online banking, app, branches, ATMs, cash deposit machines and auto-debit. Online payments after about 10 PM count as the next day.
Next banking day
Bills payment networks, supermarket counters and other banks’ apps. Pay at least one working day before the due date — two if it falls on a weekend.
Carrying a balance month after month?
Compare loansCheck if a personal loan costs less than 3% a month.
Questions?
I paid in full. Why is there still interest?
Two usual reasons: you had a cash advance, or last month you paid only part. Interest then runs until the day your full payment posts. Pay in full again next month and it stops.
Is paying the minimum due bad?
It avoids the late charge, but interest keeps running on everything else. Try “Minimum only” in the calculator above to see how long it takes and what it costs.
Are these my card’s numbers?
They come from one major bank’s published fee table. Most Philippine cards work the same way, but your exact rates and fees are in your card’s terms and on every Statement of Account.
Does CashCat issue credit cards?
No. CashCat explains and compares. We’re not a bank or a lender.
For education only, not financial advice. The calculator is a simplified model of the method shown in a bank’s published sample computation; actual charges depend on your card’s terms.