3 Secrets You Should Know About Credit Cards
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Everybody has a credit card, and everybody knows the basics of how it works. But there are a few lesser known facts that could cause you problems. They’re not secrets, as such – they’re public knowledge, often found in the small print of your credit card contract – but they’re facts that you should be aware of to avoid getting into trouble with your credit card.
- Late penalty fees are unlimited: You might not know that even if you are simply minutes or a day or two late with your credit card payment, the credit card company has the legal right to charge you whatever fee they like for a late payment, as well as for exceeding your credit limit. Be careful.
- Any late payment can affect all your debts: Being diligent with paying off most of your credit cards or other debts isn’t enough. If you are late to make a payment on just of your credit cards (or a house or car payment, or even a utility bill), the credit card company has the right to increase your interest rate. They can even raise your rate if they simply consider you’ve taken on too much debt, even if you’re paying it off OK. The credit card companies know all this about you from your credit score.
- Interest rates are unlimited: A lot of credit card companies are based in states like Delaware or South Dakota. These states have fewer laws restricting credit card activities and there is often no limit at all on how high the interest rate on your credit card can be set.
Tags: credit | Credit & Debit Cards | Debt Management | Fees | finance | Interest | Saving Money
This entry was posted on Saturday, April 5th, 2008 at 4:30 am and is filed under Credit & Debit Cards. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
