Avoid the Credit Card Late Fees

Because credit card companies are in business to make money, they find ways to make sure that they are able to pay their bills and make a profit. Sometimes this happens through the finance charges that you are charged when you don’t pay the bill in full each month. Sometimes it is through a fee that the credit card company will charge you for carrying their piece of plastic in your wallet. Sometimes it is through the late fees they will charge when you don’t pay the bill on time in any given month.

On top of the finance charges you will incur when the bill is not paid by the proper date, you may also have to pay up to $50.00 for the privilege of paying your bill a few hours or a few days late. Therefore, it is in the best interest of the student who has a credit card to find ways to avoid those charges that you may incur as a result of not paying when they have asked you to pay. 

The first way that you can learn to make your payments on time might be to call the credit card company and ask them to change the date your bill is due. If you get paid on the first of the month and the credit card bill is due on the 21st, you might have a case of running of out of money before you run out of month. If you can get the lender to change the due date to the 7th or the 10th, you can get paid on the first of the month and write your credit card payment immediately, making sure that you have it paid on time.

You can and should get into the habit of paying the bill in full each month. This assures that the credit card is for your convenience as opposed to the credit card company using you to build their business.

Another thought you might consider if they don’t want to change the due date is to pay the minimum balance immediately when you receive the credit card bill. That way the bill will be paid and marked as on time and you will be free to gather more money to apply to the bill as the month rolls on. 

If you pay your bill by telephone or on the internet, you can save yourself the cost of the stamp as well as giving yourself a few more days to pay the bill. If you decide to pay via either of these options, you might need to find out the cut off time for the payment to be made and be sure to make the phone call before that time. 

Late fees are no fun to pay. $50.00 can buy at least part of a schoolbook. Be sure to pay the credit card fees on time so that you will have the extra for what is really necessary for the collegian.