How to Avoid Credit Card Late Fees

[asdf221]

Everyone hates late fees and being late will cost you dearly these days. For some credit cards today, if you are late, you will have to shell out as much as $40 each time. This can put a nice sized hole in your pocket really quick.

Below, I will provide you with some tips and strategies on how to steer clear of those monstrous late fees. This will not only save you a lot of money in the long run, but it will also keep those money-hungry credit card companies, I won't mention any names, from getting your hard earned money.

Just pay your bill. One of the easiest ways of avoiding a late fee is to just pay your bill each and every month by sending in a check, money order, or other type of payment to your respective credit card issuer. Just make sure you follow the numerous guidelines, which are usually outlined on the back of each credit card bill, on how to send in your payment. These guidelines must be followed precisely if you want to guarantee that your payment will go through on time.

Payment guidelines may include everything from a specific payment address to the time of day by which the payment must be received to be credited that day. Many issuers also stipulate that payments must arrive in the preprinted envelope sent to the customer.

While the Fair Credit Billing Act requires issuers to credit payments the day they are received, each issuer is allowed to set specific payment guidelines. If any of the guidelines are not met, the issuer can take as many as five days to credit the payment.

An on-time payment could easily become late during that five-day period, so follow those payment guidelines carefully.

Just skip the payment. One of the more rare types of methods you hear of are Skip-A-Payment services. You can use these services to skip mortgage, credit card, or loan payments. Usually you would need to get in contact with your bank just to see if you even qualify or not. There are also independent companies out there that will allow you to do the same thing, no matter what bank you are a member of. Depending on whose service you use, the fee's associated with it vary. When you use these types of services make sure you know how much you will be charged then decide if it's worth it or not.

Pay minimum due immediately. One of the best ways to prevent a late fee from being charged to your account is to pay the minimum due immediately. As soon as you receive your bill, send in the minimum due. This will always insure that your credit card issuer received payment. You can always send in more money later if you decide otherwise. This is a great way to avoid missing a payment because if you forget to send extra money you can guarantee that you won't be charged a late fee because the minimum due has been already been paid.

Move your due date. Are your credit card bills due at a time of the month when you're running low on cash? Many people have trouble saving money, so when it comes time to paying their credit card bills, they don't have any cash to do so. One particular solution is to move your due date. Many credit card issuers will allow you to set your own due date to meet your specific needs. If you have trouble saving money, move your due date to a time when you do have money, like as soon as you get your paycheck. If you time your credit card bill to come the same day you get paid, you will always have cash to pay the bill.

Pay by phone. If you are one of those people that wait to the last minute to do everything or if you just forgot to send in your credit card payment early enough, you could always pay by phone. This guarantees that your payment will be on time. Just supply the representative on the other line with your checking account number and your bank routing number, which is printed at the bottom of each check. Usually the routing number is first and the account number is second. A lot of issuers allow you to pay by phone and some will charge you a pretty penny for doing so. Fee's can range from $5 to $20.

Use other express methods. If your bank does not offer a "pay by phone" service and you need to get your payment to your credit card issuer as soon as possible, I recommend either sending your payment in by express mail or by Western Union. Either one of these services can get your payment to your credit card issuer immediately. These express methods are costly, but it will always most likely be cheaper than any fees associated with being late. Make sure you send your express payment to the proper address. Many issuers have separate payment addresses for express payments. The last thing you want to do is slow the processing of an express payment by sending it to the wrong address.

[neatdesign]

I agree with all of these strategies EXCEPT the "skip the payment" suggestion, for obvious reasons.

You're less likely to miss a payment if you arrange to pay at least the minimum amount due as soon as you get your bill. You can always pay more later on, but this will ensure you've made enough of a payment early enough to avoid any problems.

Don't wait until the due date or the day before to make your payment, even if it's online or by phone. There are just too many possible complications that could pop up. I can guarantee you that most of the time the credit card company will not show empathy over a missed payment, even if it ultimately wasn't your fault.

~ Jenney

[vsjhoc]

Originally Posted by neatdesign

I agree with all of these strategies EXCEPT the "skip the payment" suggestion, for obvious reasons.

You're less likely to miss a payment if you arrange to pay at least the minimum amount due as soon as you get your bill. You can always pay more later on, but this will ensure you've made enough of a payment early enough to avoid any problems.

Don't wait until the due date or the day before to make your payment, even if it's online or by phone. There are just too many possible complications that could pop up. I can guarantee you that most of the time the credit card company will not show empathy over a missed payment, even if it ultimately wasn't your fault.

~ Jenney

Agree with Jenney -- skip the Skip a Payment option. You don't get to skip the interest that accrues while you're not paying.

If you have a good payment record but have one late payment, call the credit card company and give your sob story. If you have a history of paying on time, they may reverse the late fee. It does happen. You have nothing to lose by asking.

[disneysteve]

I don't really have any problem with the OP (except for the skip a payment method). However, I think the answer to the question of how to avoid CC late fees could have been written much shorter: Pay your bill on time. That's it. Very simple. I've had a credit card since about 1982 and have NEVER paid a single late fee. Why? Because I pay the bill each month when it comes. I used to do it by writing and mailing a check. Then I switched to online banking. Never had a problem. If the CC company changes the due date, I don't even notice. I open the statement, make sure it is correct, go online and make the payment. Couldn't be any simpler.

[Hez]

I think that online banking has been a godsend for paying the cc bill on time. I don't even pay attention to due dates, I just pay the online cc bill off whenever I can. When the statement arrives in the mail it's pretty much just a reminder of what I've spent and when I paid it off, haha.

My friend doesn't have her cc set up online and she often misses her payments, and has had to pay for it. She's the kind of person who has good intentions, but misplaces and loses things easily in her home. This thread reminds me that I should ask her again if she has her bill set up online yet!

[BEVO]

yup - i absolutely agree about online payments. FAST and convenient. also, i think of my credit cards as DEBIT cards - i only spend what i know i can pay IN FULL when the bill comes. i only violated this rule ONCE - and i used my "emergency" credit card (i.e., no other charges on that one) for that and paid it off in 3 months.

[poundwise]

Paying online is great. Not only is it simple and quick, you get confirmation of your payment. (Always print or otherwise save the confirmation screen/number.)

I think most people get into trouble with late, or nearly so, payments because they focus on the due date. Even determining to pay a bill a week prior to due isn't enough sometimes (by mail, weekends, holidays, processing time, etc.)

I started paying my credit debt bills when they come in. That is, when a credit card issuer sends me an e-mail telling me I have a new statement, I go to the site then, or the next day or so, and make a payment. The due date is in the next month, but I pay it. It may say:

Statement date: December 13, 2006
Due date: January 12, 2007

That sucker gets paid on December 14-15.

No way I'll get a late fee.

Then, I also make another payment, typically at the end of the month. So, using the example dates above, I might make a payment on December 29.

[MonkeyMama]

Originally Posted by disneysteve

I don't really have any problem with the OP (except for the skip a payment method). However, I think the answer to the question of how to avoid CC late fees could have been written much shorter: Pay your bill on time. That's it. Very simple. I've had a credit card since about 1982 and have NEVER paid a single late fee. Why? Because I pay the bill each month when it comes. I used to do it by writing and mailing a check. Then I switched to online banking. Never had a problem. If the CC company changes the due date, I don't even notice. I open the statement, make sure it is correct, go online and make the payment. Couldn't be any simpler.

Um yeah - LOL. Well said!

I haven't always paid it when it arrives and I still rarely do. But just know the credit card companies are not going to give you ANY leeway and mail it ahead of time. Postmark doesn't count. I generally aim to mail it a week or 2 before it is due and have never had a problem. I do check my balance almost everyday and one month this year I had mailed a payment really early that still hadn't posted one week prior, so I mailed it in again. They both cleared before the due date, but I rather pay my bill off twice than risk it not getting there - US mail has been a little random this year if you ask me. BEcause of this and that incident I have taken to just paying the bill online the second it comes due. IT is the simplest way. But really, for the longest time I just mailed payment 1 week before the due date - for years - never had a problem. I guess for that reason I don't see why people have such issues. ?? Moving your due date is a simple fix too if your bill comes due at a bad time for you. Definitely some good advice.

[MonkeyMama]

Many issuers also stipulate that payments must arrive in the preprinted envelope sent to the customer.

I find that particularly interesting too. YEah - they give you NO leeway - WOW!

[instantinfo4you]

I find that paying online, as soon as I get my cc statements is by far the easiest way of avoiding late fees. I also like the idea of paying the minimum immediately, cause you can always pay more later. Some great advice here.