With the increased complexity of credit card statements these days, it can seem like quite a chore to navigate your way through them. What makes matters even worse is the fact that while one card company may have an innovative design to their statements, another card company may have one that looks like it’s from a bad MS Paint design from 1995. Since there is no one uniform look to credit card statements, it isn’t a surprise that many people have trouble finding the pertinent information they need from their different statements every month. Let’s take a closer look at credit card statements and see if we can find the information you need to know.

First and foremost, the single most important part of any credit card statement is the part that tells you what your balance is and what your minimum payment is, as well as when it is due. Almost all card statements print this information on multiple parts of the bill, including the area right around where you address shows through on the envelope so that you can see it as soon as you open your bill. While it is never a good idea to only pay the minimum on your credit card bill, it is better to pay the minimum than nothing at all. Next, we’ll look at the itemized charges on your bill.

With the increased threat of identity theft and the frequency of stolen credit card numbers, it is always a good idea to check your itemized transactions. This can be a process that only takes a minute or two, however if you use your card quite a bit, it can take a while. Why it is so important for you to check your transactions? Not only do you need to act right away if you feel that your card information has been stolen, but you also need to verify the fact that the transactions that you actually made processed correctly. That means looking for duplicate transactions or that the transactions you made were for the right amount. If you had any refunds that got processed to your card, make sure that they got processed as refunds and not charges. All of these things are simple, innocent mistakes that happen every day and are chalked up to human error. Of course you also need to check for signs that someone else is using your card, but the chances of these other things happening are even greater.

Finally, you should also check on your rewards that come with your credit card. Almost every credit card today has some kind of rewards package attached to it, whether it is air miles, cash back or points that apply to certain products. Every one of your credit card statements should come with a tally on how many rewards you’ve earned. You should check to make sure that your rewards are adding up correctly and also when they expire. This is especially important since many rewards expire and some credit card companies aren’t very forthcoming in telling you this since, in reality, they don’t want you to redeem them.