Your safest solution is to pay your bill electronically, either by the methods mentioned above, online banking, or check by phone. For those people who don’t have a checking account, Money Gram and Western Union are fast, quick options. Money Gram payments usually take around 2 days to be received, and usually will cost you around $9 to send, but in terms of late fees, $9 is better than $35 going on your credit card balance and possibly making you go over your credit limit, costing you an additional $35 for an overlimit fee. If you wait until the last minute, and have no checking or savings account, Western Union is really your only solution if you want to avoid the late fee. They guarantee the money to arrive the same day, and usually charge around $13, again cheaper than that late fee the credit card company will charge.
For those people who do online banking, this is probably the safest way to make your payment. You simply enter all of your account information, credit card account number, company name, billing address, and phone number, and then whenever you want to make a payment you just enter the date and amount and it is automatically sent out. Depending on the company you are paying and the bank you use, your payment will either be send electronically, posting in about two or three business days, or sent thru the mail by the bank, posting in seven to ten business days. Either way, you have proof of payment with your bank, and are covered in the event a payment doesn’t post to your account.
If you wake up one morning, and realize your payment is due today, you probably should call in a check by phone, as it will process that same day and post to your account, beating the late fee for you. The downside, however, is that most companies charge fees for the convenience of check by phone, ranging from $4.00 all the way to $15.00. But again, $15 being added to your card balance is better than $35.00.
You always want to stay away from your credit limits whenever possible, at least by $100.00 if you can. By doing this, in the event your annual fee catches you by surprise, or you get hit with a late fee, you can be sure you won’t be assessed the additional $35 overlimt fee.
Never send just the minimum payments if you can avoid it, it is a good idea to try to send you minimum required payment, plus and finance charges or any other fees that are charged to your card on a monthly basis. This will keep your interest charges low, and help you avoid additional fees.
Take advantage of balance transfer offers you receive, especially if they come with no fees, and no interest for a certain period of time. Just make sure that the interest rate after the introductory period is lower than what you currently pay, to ensure you are making a wise decision. By playing the balance transfer game, you can save the most money in finance charges, especially if you are able to pay your entire balance while you have the low introductory interest rate.
In closing, if you have to play the credit card game, you need to make sure that you always know what you are getting into, and constantly stay up to date on your balances, payments due, etc. If you start having problems, contact a credit consolidation company or your lender before it gets out of hand, to discuss possible solutions, before you ruin your credit and possibly triple your credit card debt. Credit cards can be a good thing, but you have to be smart, and know how to use them wisely to protect both your credit and your financial future.
