Avoid Credit Card Late Fees like the Plague

Are credit cards costing you more? If you think that using your credit card is costing you more, you’re probably right. The fees that credit card companies charge when you pay your bill past the due date have nearly tripled between 1996 and 2006, according to Money magazine. During those same years, credit card company revenues declined due to competition and financial markets that favored consumers, which forced many companies to lower their interest rates.

If you have a credit card, you should read this article. If you have never before had a late payment and received a late fee, then you don’t know how quickly they can add up, leading to a mounting balance that many people simply cannot afford to pay. Each time you get charged that late payment fee, you will also be charged more in interest charges because of having a higher balance, and before you know it, you will be over your credit limit, and be getting charged fees for that as well. If you can’t come up with the funds to make a massive sized payment, you could be in real trouble, so please, don’t let this happen to you.

Of course, the obvious way to keep from getting those late fees is to always make your credit card payment on time, but in some instances, that is easier said than done. Sometimes you may fall behind due to unexpected expense, illness, job loss, or you may not get a statement, and therefore miss your payment through no fault of your own. Whatever the reason, you can bet that your credit card company will be ready and willing to capitalize on it by slapping that late fee on there the day the payment is late!

Your credit card company sees no good reason for you to be late with your payment, whatever that reason may be. Although it may seem like a real, legitimate reason to you, odds are, they will only see the fact that your payment is late, and that is all they will be interested in. Of course, you have to maintain your home, your utilities, and put food on the table, but don’t make the mistake of postponing your credit card payment, even if you really feel that there is a good reason.

When you get your credit card statement, it is easy to look at the balance and the interest rate and get so disgusted that you don’t want to pay anything at all, but that is the last thing you should do. Where your statement shows the minimum payment due and the due date, you should always make certain that at the very least you get that amount in by the date shown, or you will be assessed that $35 late fee. If you get more funds later in the month and want to send them in, great, that will bring your balance down and save you some money in interest next month, but don’t wait until you get the large amount to make your payment, if it means you will be late. There is no good reason to hand that credit card company anymore money than you have to!

Unless you make large purchases or payments on your credit card, or get assessed late fees, over the limit fees, or annual fees, your monthly minimum payment will always be about the same amount, so when you get paid, even if you haven’t gotten your statement yet, you might want to go ahead and send that amount in. When your statement does arrive, if you find that you didn’t send enough money in, go ahead right away and send in the remainder. Doing it this way will make certain you don’t spend the money while you are waiting for your statement to arrive.

If you find yourself in a situation where you know your payment will be late, call the credit card company and explain it to them, and see if you can either get a fee waiver, or skip that month’s payment. In some cases, depending upon the type of card you have, you may be able to skip one monthly payment one time each year, as long as your card isn’t past due, so this might be an option that you can take advantage of, you will never know until you call and ask! "I am still allergic to debt. You are not master of your own destiny, If you have debt"