Your 20 to 50 day interest free period vanishes the moment you pay only the Minimum Amount Due, and interest then starts on the full unpaid balance from each purchase date, not the due date.
Quick answer: The “Minimum Amount Due” (MAD) is the smallest payment that keeps your account regular, usually about 5% of the bill. Pay only that and you lose your interest free grace period. Interest then runs on the entire outstanding amount from the day each purchase posted, and new spends also earn no grace until you clear the full balance.
If you are short on time: jump to How to escape the trap below and pay the full statement amount before the due date.
The Minimum Amount Due is the floor that keeps your card from going into default. It is not the smart amount to pay. The moment you pay less than the full “Total Amount Due”, the bank treats you as a revolving credit customer. Your interest free period vanishes, and finance charges begin.
A credit card gives an interest free window of roughly 20 to 50 days, but only if you pay the full bill by the due date. This is standard card billing mechanics, not a favour.
Pay only the MAD and three things happen at once:
The Reserve Bank of India recognises how harmful this is. Under the Master Direction on Credit Card and Debit Card - Issuance and Conduct, RBI/2022-23/92, DoR.AUT.REC.No.27/24.01.041/2022-23, dated 21 April 2022 (effective 1 July 2022), card issuers must warn cardholders, in the statement, about the consequence of paying only the minimum due. The same Master Direction bars capitalisation of unpaid charges, levied interest, or fees, so a bank cannot quietly charge interest on top of interest beyond what is disclosed.
Say your statement shows a Total Amount Due of ₹50,000 and a Minimum Amount Due of ₹2,500 (5%). You pay only ₹2,500.
The MAD keeps your CIBIL score from a late-payment hit, but it does nothing to stop the interest. That is the trap.
Real example. Aarti Mehta, a school teacher in Indore, ran up a ₹62,000 bill in March 2026 buying a laptop and festival gifts. The Minimum Amount Due was ₹3,100. She paid only that for three months and stopped using the card, thinking she was “managing” it. But after paying ₹9,300 over three months, her balance had barely fallen, to about ₹59,000, because finance charges at roughly 42% a year plus GST ate up nearly everything she paid. In June she converted the balance to a 12-month EMI at 16% and cleared it, saving thousands compared with letting it revolve.
RTI has limited reach here, so be realistic. The Right to Information Act 2005 covers public authorities only. Most credit card issuers are private banks (HDFC, ICICI, Axis) and are not public authorities, so you cannot file an RTI directly against them.
But RTI does apply where the issuer is in the public sector:
For an individual billing complaint against any card issuer, the correct route is not RTI. Use the bank's grievance cell first, then escalate to the RBI Ombudsman through the RBI CMS portal (cms.rbi.org.in) if the bank does not resolve it within 30 days. The Ombudsman is a complaint-redress channel, separate from RTI.
If your card is from a PSU bank, a short RTI can still apply useful pressure. Use the AI RTI Drafter to build it.
To: The Central Public Information Officer [Public-sector bank name], Cards Division Under Section 6(1) of the Right to Information Act 2005, please provide: 1. The interest computation method applied to my card account number XXXX, including the rate per month and the date from which interest is charged when only the minimum due is paid. 2. A copy of the disclosure your bank gives cardholders, as required by the RBI Master Direction dated 21 April 2022, about paying only the Minimum Amount Due. 3. The finance charges and GST levied on my account for the last three billing cycles. I enclose the application fee of Rs 10 under Section 7. If any part is held by another office, please transfer it under Section 6(3).
It is the smallest payment, usually about 5% of your total bill, that keeps your account from being marked as a default. Paying only this amount keeps your credit record clean but does not stop interest. You lose the interest free period and finance charges begin on the full balance.
Yes. The interest free grace period only applies when you pay the Total Amount Due in full by the due date. Pay only the minimum and the grace period ends. Interest then runs on the entire outstanding from each purchase date, and new spends also stop earning grace.
When you revolve a balance, interest is charged from the transaction date of each purchase, not from the statement date or the due date. This is why a part-paid bill costs much more than people expect. The clock started the day you swiped.
Revolving credit interest is commonly 36% to 48% a year, roughly 3% to 4% a month, plus 18% GST on the interest. It is among the most expensive borrowing available. Converting a large balance to an EMI, often 12% to 20% a year, is far cheaper.
The RBI Master Direction dated 21 April 2022 requires issuers to warn you, on the statement, about paying only the minimum due, and it bars capitalisation of unpaid charges beyond what is disclosed. It does not cap the interest rate. The protection is disclosure, not a lower rate.
Usually no. RTI covers public authorities only, and most card issuers are private banks. You can file an RTI to a public-sector bank's card division or to the RBI for general records. For a personal dispute, use the bank grievance cell and then the RBI Ombudsman, not RTI.
Pay the Total Amount Due in full, or as much above the minimum as possible. Stop using the card until the balance is zero. Ask the bank to convert the balance into an EMI at a lower rate. Set an auto-pay for the full bill so the trap cannot trigger by accident.