It's always recommended to pay your bills on time, and that includes your credit card bill. But sometimes it slips your mind, and you realize with a sinking feeling that you were supposed to make your payment days ago.
The good news is that there's usually nothing to worry about, especially if this is your first time being late on your credit card payment. Still, it helps to know what's going to happen in this situation and how you can best manage it with your credit cards.
The card issuer charges you a late fee, but you may be able to get it waived
When you're late on your credit card payment, the card issuer charges a late fee. This happens even if you were just one day late, and late fees aren't cheap. Credit card companies can legally charge a fee of up to $30 for your first late payment and up to $41 for each subsequent late payment.
If you haven't made a habit of paying late, you can probably get this fee waived. Credit card companies will usually waive your first late fee. Even if it's not your first time being late, you might be able to get it waived if you've paid on time for at least the past six to 12 months.
Contact your card issuer to see if it will waive your late fee. You can do this by calling the number on the back of your credit card. There may also be the option to contact customer service by live chat or secure message if you log in to your account online.
It won't affect your credit score unless you're late by 30 days or more
Often, the biggest worry people have about a late payment is what it will do to their credit score. Fortunately, your credit score isn't going to take a hit just because you were a few days late.
Not everyone realizes this, but creditors can't report late payments to the credit bureaus until the payment is at least 30 days past due. That's the lowest threshold for a payment to be reported as late on your credit file.
If you make your payment one, 10, or 20 days late, it won't hurt your credit score. You still should do your best to pay on time, though, so you don't get dinged with late fees. And if you are late on a payment, make sure to pay it ASAP. If you go 30 days without paying and your card issuer reports the late payment, it can decrease your credit score by more than 100 points.
There are bigger consequences if you don't get caught up
You won't face any lasting repercussions if your credit card payment is a few days or even weeks late. The only penalty before the 30-day mark is a late fee, which you may be able to get waived. But after that, consequences can quickly add up.
The first is damage to your credit score. As explained above, that happens if you're late by 30 days and the card issuer reports it to the credit bureaus. Here's what can happen after that if you don't get caught up on your payment:
- The card issuer will charge you another late fee each time you miss another payment due date.
- Your account will be reported as 60 days, and then 90 days past due, with each report doing more damage to your credit score.
- The card issuer can start charging you a higher penalty APR. Card issuers typically do this when an account is 60 days past due.
- Your account could eventually be charged-off and your debt sold to a collection agency.
The best way to avoid any sort of issue is to pay your credit card bill on time. You may want to set up automatic payments or reminders for yourself so you don't forget. And if your payment due date doesn't work for you, ask your card issuer to change it. If you want to move it until, say, after you get paid, your card issuer probably won't have a problem doing that for you.
