I’ll cut to the chase. If you ever miss a credit card payment and are socked with big fees and interest charges, you can call the bank and ask them to waive the fees and charges.
Don’t make a habit of this. But if it is a rare occurrence, and a genuine mistake, the bank may forgive your lapse.
If You Miss a Payment, Call the Bank
This month, my husband was set to pay his Chase United Mileage Plus card via an electronic payment. He had scheduled the payment, but failed to “verify the details.”
As a result, he missed the payment deadline, and was socked with a $25 late payment fee and over $32 in interest charges.
The statement warned that if he was late on another payment, they could charge him a $35 late fee and an interest rate of 29.99 percent. What’s more, a lapse like this could adversely impact his credit score.
In this case, he called the bank and offered to pay the bill in full immediately, The customer service rep said they would remove all the fees and interest charges, and that they would not report anything to the credit bureaus. Phew!
If you are prone to this kind of error, the points and miles game is not for you. You will end up paying more in fees than you earn in rewards.
To be frank, I have also made this mistake. Last summer, when we were traveling, a bill came due and I missed the payment deadline. Since it was a one-time mistake, the bank graciously waived my excess fees.
Just remember, most everything in life is negotiable, especially when dealing with banks.
Have you made a similar mistake? What was your outcome?
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