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What Does Outstanding Balance Mean?

4 min read

Published January 28, 2025

Table of contents

Key Takeaways

Your outstanding balance is the total amount of credit card debt that you owe based on your posted transactions.
Your available balance is typically the amount of available credit that you have after accounting for your posted and pending transactions.
You can help keep your credit utilization low if you keep track of your outstanding balance.

What does outstanding balance mean on a credit card?

Your outstanding balance is the total unpaid balance on your credit card. Typically, your outstanding balance can include regular purchases, cash advances, balance transfers, interest charges, and fees.

Seeing your outstanding balance lets you know how much money you owe on your credit card account at a particular point in time. Your total outstanding balance may change with card use. When you make a purchase, once your card issuer posts the purchase to your account, it becomes part of the outstanding amount that you owe. Some credit card companies refer to your outstanding balance as your current balance.

How is outstanding balance different from available balance?

Your outstanding balance shows how much you owe your credit card company based on transactions posted to your account. On the other hand, your available balance typically shows how much credit you have left to use. Your available credit is usually your credit limit minus your outstanding balance and any pending transactions.

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What is the difference between my outstanding balance and my statement balance?

Your credit card statement balance is the total due on your credit card account at the end of your billing cycle. Your credit card issuer will add purchases, interest charges, and fees that you accrued during your most recent billing period to your statement balance. On the other hand, your outstanding balance (your current balance) is the entire amount you owe to your credit card issuer at a particular point in time.

Typically, your statement balance will remain the same until your credit card issuer sends you your next monthly statement. So, your statement balance and your outstanding balance may not match. Ultimately, it depends on if you’ve used your card since your last monthly statement.

How do I check my outstanding balance?

There are multiple ways that you can find your outstanding balance:

Online: You can find out your outstanding balance by logging into your account on your credit card company’s website.

Mobile App: You may also be able to view your outstanding balance through a mobile app if your credit card provider offers it.

Customer Service: The back of your credit card usually has your credit card company’s customer service number. You may be able to get your outstanding balance by contacting them.

How much of my outstanding balance should I pay?

You should aim to pay at least the minimum payment on your credit card bill to avoid a late fee. However, if you’re trying to pay off your balance, you can choose to make multiple payments on your remaining balance during the month. Just make sure you pay at least the minimum payment by your due date. If you want to avoid an interest charge, you may want to consider paying off your statement balance each month.

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It's important to remember that your outstanding balance may play a factor in your credit utilization ratio. That’s because your credit utilization—or how much of your available credit that you’re using—typically makes up 30% of your credit score. Note that the impact of your utilization will vary depending on which credit bureau is reporting because each credit bureau uses its own credit scoring model. So, while you typically don’t have to pay your entire outstanding balance by the end of your billing cycle, keeping your outstanding balance low may help you keep your credit utilization in check too.

Why you should keep track of your balance

Beyond helping you manage your credit utilization, keeping track of your current balance may also help you maintain your finances and manage credit card debt. When you regularly keep track of your credit card balance, you get to see how much you’re spending (and in what categories), which can in turn help you budget your money.

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