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What is a Statement Credit?

3 min read

Last Updated: January 30, 2026

Table of contents

Key Takeaways

A statement credit appears on your credit file after your card issuer has applied funds to your account.
You might receive statement credits after returning credit card purchases or redeem your credit card rewards as statement credits.
Statement credits could reduce your credit card balance or cover some fees.

A statement credit is almost always a welcome sight on your credit card statement. You might notice a statement credit appear after you’ve returned a purchase or see certain credit cards mention statement credits as part of their membership rewards program. But you might be wondering what that means and how to receive one.

Read on to learn how you may get a statement credit and how a statement credit could affect your credit card account.

What is a statement credit?

A statement credit is a certain amount of money your credit card issuer applies to your account. It appears on your statement as a negative number, like a credit card payment.

If you carry a balance on your card, a statement credit may reduce your debt. You may use statement credits to cover an annual fee if your card charges you one. However, all Discover^® credit cards have no annual fee.

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Common examples of statement credits

In addition to refunds and disputed charges, you may be able to redeem credit card rewards as statement credits. With Discover, cardmembers may receive statement credits for using their credit card and referring friends to Discover.

Cash refund

You might receive a statement credit after getting a refund for a credit card purchase. For example, say you’ve returned a sweater to a retail store. After the merchant processes the refund, your credit card company may apply a statement credit to your account for the cost of the sweater.

Redeem Miles for Travel or Cash¹

Some credit card companies offer travel credit cards. Each eligible purchase with a travel rewards card may earn miles that could make flights and other travel expenses more affordable.

Did you know?

The Discover It^® Miles card offers even more ways to redeem rewards. You can turn miles into cash. Or redeem as a statement credit for your travel purchases like airfare, hotels, rideshares, gas stations, restaurants, and more.¹

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If you are a cash back credit card member, you may also earn rewards that can be redeemed as cash to transfer into a savings account or use toward credit card payments. An unpaid credit card balance may result in interest charges, credit card debt, and a hit to your credit score, so it’s important to make your minimum payment each billing cycle.

How to use a statement credit

After you return an item or refute a charge, your credit card issuer should automatically add a statement credit to your account. If you’re redeeming cash from rewards credit cards, you may have to take some additional steps on your credit card company website or mobile app. To take advantage of your statement credit, you could simply continue using your card as you usually would, the credit should bring down your statement balance. Check your credit card statements for any available credit; this way you don’t spend more than you have.

If a statement credit is larger than your debt, you might have a negative balance. In that case, you could request the amount from your credit card issuer as a check, money order, or direct deposit.

The bottom line

You may earn a statement credit in several ways. Whether you’ve received a refund or earned a reward, a statement credit may help to lower your balance, keep debt down, and give you more credit to use. Read your credit card issuer’s terms to understand how to earn and redeem statement credits and rewards.

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