A grace period on a credit card is the window between the end of a billing cycle and the payment due date during which no interest accrues on new purchases — provided you paid the prior statement balance in full. The Credit CARD Act of 2009 mandates at least 21 days for grace periods on credit cards.
The grace period is the interest-free window that rewards cardholders who pay their full [[statement-balance]] each cycle. Under the CARD Act, enforced by the CFPB, issuers that offer a grace period must provide at least 21 days between the statement closing date and the payment due date. Many issuers provide 25–28 days. Critically, the grace period applies only to new purchases — not to [[cash-advance]] transactions or balance transfers, which begin accruing interest at their respective APRs immediately. You also lose the grace period if you carry a balance forward: once you don't pay the full statement balance, interest begins accruing daily on all purchase balances from the date of each transaction, not just from the due date. Paying back to a zero statement balance restores the grace period for the following cycle. For cardholders who pay in full each month, the grace period effectively provides 21–55 days of interest-free short-term financing on purchases — a genuine benefit that makes credit cards a powerful cash-flow tool when used responsibly.
Pay your full statement balance for two consecutive cycles. Most issuers restore the grace period once the carried balance is cleared.
Most consumer credit cards do, but the CARD Act doesn't require them — it only requires that if one is offered, it be at least 21 days. Charge cards and some retail cards may have different terms.