On-time Payments

Some people may think that making a credit card payment late is better than not paying at all. But late is late no matter what the reason and your lateness will certainly show up on your credit report as well as you being charged a late-payment fee.  You could also lose your low interest credit cards that you worked to hard to keep while making it more difficult to get better terms in the future on a needed loan.  Your account statement gives you your due date so there is not reason for missing it.

Some companies have a cut off time.  If your check arrives on the correct day but late in the afternoon mail, you missed out and are now considered late because the terms require payment by 9 am on that date. It is up to you to read the small print about the terms and conditions.  Make sure these dates and times are taken into consideration if you have set up an automatic payment through your bank.  Then be sure to check what the bank policy states when it comes to holidays or weekends.  Take the time to review you statement each month. If you happen to catch a mistake, you have a specific period of time to dispute it, or else you will own it.