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What is Credit Card Post Date?

3 min read

Last Updated: February 19, 2025

Table of contents

Pending charges and post dates

How does post date in credit cards work?

How do pending charges work on credit cards?

Do you accrue interest on pending charges?

The bottom line

Key Takeaways

A credit card post date is the day when your credit card issuer adds or takes away funds from your credit card account after a transaction.
Your post date can be on the same day as your transaction, or it can be a few days later.
You should know your credit card post date to ensure that funds are available for your pending transactions.

Credit card post date is the day when your credit card company adds or subtracts funds from your account balance after you make a transaction. Put another way, credit card post date is when your credit issuer processes your transaction and records it to your credit card account.

Your post date can be the same day as the day that you make the transaction, but it can vary.

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Pending charges and post dates

Sometimes when you purchase something on your credit card, your credit card company will list the transaction as “pending” right away but it may not be added to your balance. Other credit card issuers may show the added balance for a pending transaction right away; it depends on the issuer. Either way, if the transaction does not have a post date, then it is still pending.

How does post date in credit cards work?

The day that you make a transaction isn't always the same day that your card issuer posts the transaction to your account, but why is that? The answer lies in how credit card transactions process.

How do pending charges work on credit cards?

When you make a purchase with your credit card, the merchant will authorize your transaction, that is they will check with your credit card issuer to make sure that your card is valid, and enough money is available for the purchase.

After that, the business will ask your credit card issuer to pay for the purchase. The credit card payment process doesn't happen as quickly as authorizing your card though. That's because sometimes the merchants, card processors, and credit card companies sort out their transactions at the end of the day.

For example, if you're ordering an item online, sometimes the transaction won't post to your account until the merchant ships your item. After the credit card issuer finishes processing the transaction, the issuer will post the transaction to your account on the credit card post date.

How does post date work with online purchases?

For example, say that you purchase clothing online. The day that you made the purchase is the transaction date. Your credit card issuer receives some information about the purchase right away but may still have to wait for the merchant to submit your order for payment. In the meantime, you may see a pending charge on your credit card account right away.

If you don't cancel your order, the merchant sends the transaction to your credit card company for payment, then your card issuer will add the amount of your order to your credit card balance.

Do you accrue interest on pending charges?

You don't accrue interest on pending transactions until they post to your account. Pending transactions also don't affect your outstanding credit card balance, just your available credit. If you want to avoid paying interest on your new purchases, then you should pay off your statement balance in full by your monthly payment due date following the purchase.

The bottom line

If you regularly use your credit card, knowing your post date is important to ensure you have enough money available when you need it. If you have a lot of pending credit card transactions and continue to use your card, you risk going over your credit limit when the transactions finally post. This can affect your credit utilization rate. You can regularly keep track of your spending and check your credit card statements as a part of your good credit habits.

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