Do you feel so frustrated with yourself when your credit card bill arrives and you discover that you have been charged a late fee? Not only does this mean that you have to pay the company an extra fee (that can be as high as $25 or more!) But it also means that your credit rating will be negatively impacted.
The credit card issuer will assess the late payment fee on your credit card account and then will add the fee to your current balance. If you pay your bill consistently late then you may see an increase that permanently affects your annual interest rate. Credit card companies pay close attention to the habits of their customers and they do not mess around when it comes to late payments!
Sometimes being consistently late on a credit card could also affect the interest rate you pay on other credit cards you have. This is related to the policies of the credit card provider. Being late with one payment on a card can have serious financial ramifications for you.
How to Avoid Late Fees
Whether you are not very organized or lazy with your bill paying you can turn this situation around right now. You can learn appropriate credit card account management that will make it possible for you to never have to concern yourself with late fees ever again. You do not want to have to cope with the consequences of late payment action so you need to get your act together in this regard!
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Pay your bill online
This is the easiest and simplest no-fuss way to never have to pay a late fee ever again. When you send a check in the mail it must be sent at least 10 days in advance to arrive in time for the payment deadline. On the other hand electronic payments that are made through the Internet in most cases post the same day that they are made or at least within a 24 hour period. When you pay online not only do you not have to plan far in advance but you can also print out a copy of the payment you have made. In that way there will never be any confusion about the payment that was made or the date it was made on.
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Set up an automatic payment plan
To make it even easier to pay your credit card bill online you can set up an automatic payment plan. In this way your payments will automatically be deducted from out bank account on the same day of the month. You can change the dates or the fixed amounts if need be but if you make your payments this way then being late with them is not an option!
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Sign up for e-mail notifications
Most credit card providers give their customers the option of signing up for payment alerts. What this means is that the credit card company will send a notice to your e-mail account to let you know when your monthly payment due date is drawing near. At the same time you will also be informed of what your minimum payment has been set at. As long as you have set up your credit card account online you will be able to login to your account and pay your bill. Or if you have set up automatic payments as described above you will not need to worry about being charged a late fee.
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Pay your balance in full every month
By not charging more than you can afford to pay back in 30 days’ time you will not be charged interest. As well you will not have to worry about being charged a late fee because you will not be scrambling to find the money to pay your bill before the due date. This also makes you a very responsible credit card user and helps you to build a strong credit history.
