It's good to know, but why were you late with your payment by over 20 days?

I can understand getting upset because you're charged a late fee for being one minute past the due date, but 20 days is plenty of time.

I wonder if that would work on an auto title loan?

@Russell Miller: 20-day grace period ≠ 20 days late. In terms of credit cards the grace period is the period during which no interest is charged.

@wickedpixel: "I just made a late payment on my Citibank credit card because the grace period was only 20 days. I got hit with a $3.00 interest charge and a $39.00 late fee."

What you say may be true, but the poster was still more than 20 days late (as per the quote above), got hit with an interest charge *and* a late fee, and expected them to reverse them just because he asked?

I mean, good for him that they did, but this is a situation where I would have likely just took my lumps instead of threatening to take my business elsewhere.

@Russell Miller: No, the quote you reference states that he was late on his payment due to the fact that the grace period (time from when the statement is issued to the due date, during which no interest is accrued) was only twenty days in length. At no point does he state that he paid 20 days after the due date and the language he uses to describe the situation is very clear.

The other good thing to know is that state law trumps corporate policy.

In a personal experience BOA was cashing my checks that I was using to pay off my credit card bill the exact day after it was due. Ex: due on the 11th, but the check would be cashed the 12th. After numerous arguments with a customer rep and finding out they'd only refund half of the late fee (because it wasn't my fault and it wasn't their fault that the "mail was late" we should split the cost.)

Turns out Oklahoma has a week long grace period for all payments. Called back argued my way to a supervisor, said that since my account was in Oklahoma, they are located in Oklahoma then Oklahoma law is applied. Quoted him the law then got my money back.

Now I just joined the class action suit because of the late fee policy. Awesome!

I've missed a credit card payment once, stuff happens-- you go on a month long trip, you're busy cramming for exams, or you simply forget-- You always always always call the credit card company to let them know that it was an accident so that they (1) don't mark it down on your credit report that you defaulted and (2) get those exorbitant fees redacted. This is all assuming you have a history of paying your bills on time and only happens once in a long while. They'll always take it back as long as you don't abuse the system.

@Russell Miller: Personally, I feel it's dumb to pay immediately when getting the bill. I purposely wait until a day or two before (I pay online) to pay.

Why? Because my bill runs 500-1500 a month and that's money i could be earning interest on for half a month. May not be much per statement, but continue that interest for months and years, and you're seriously stupid for NOT waiting til the end of the given grace period unless you have other circumstances.

@Russell Miller: Let's look at a hypothetical example, since common language and "Credit Card Language" are two different things.

Statement date: 1/15/09
Due Date: 2/5/09
Martin paid on 2/8/09

If you pay during the period between 1/15/09 and 2/5/09, you are during your 'grace period,' and no interest accrues. If you pay after 2/5/09 (or fail to pay the entire balance and have a remaining balance), interest accrues retroactively to 1/15/09, the Statement Date. In addition, the credit card company will likely tack on a Late Fee if you do not make the minimum payment by the due date.

So in this case, Martin paid after the due date (outside the grace period) and thus accrued a $3 interest charge and a $39 late fee. By calling, he was able to get his due date/grace period extended to 2/10/09. This means that he paid within the grace period, and presumably the CC company reversed the interest charge and late fee.

The point is, by calling, you can sometimes avoid interest charges and late fees. Hope that helps clear things up!

I was about to ask.. Your state must be nice. The last time I remember the late payment grace period being more than zero days was, oh, back in 1999?
I thought all companies have pretty much gotten rid of any grace period, and it's 'pay by the due date or it's a $29 late fee' by now.
You sure this isn't just the 20 day grace period for purchases before interest starts to accrue?
@zacwax:

@padams89:
I would have to disagree on the 'very clear' portion. How can you miss a due date because you don't know how long the 'grace period' is? Two separate things.

Just chiming in to say that I was late ONE DAY on a payment (I misread the due date as the 18th when the due date was actually the 16th) and Citi would not refund the $39.00 fee. I called them three times and each time I was told that it would not affect my credit score, but there was no chance they could take away the late fee. For the record, I've never been late on a payment.

As much as I enjoy these feel good stories, just be aware that not everyone is as fortunate.

@ColtonScratchy: If you are 30 days late, no matter how nice you are or how rare of an occasion it is, it will appear on your credit report. Secondly, does no one realize those fee's are there as encouragement to pay your bills on time ?

Actually, if you are 1-29 days late, as stated, it does not affect your credit score. Only 30 days late should report. Now, you should always pay your credit cards on time, or at least the minimum payment. Because most credit card online billing systems are annoying, I generally schedule an immediate payment of the minimum when I see a payment due online, and then schedule a payment of the remainder by the due date on the statement.

@310Drew:

Those fees are there to make a profit. Period.

Don't try to "rationalize" charging $39 as encouragement. $39 is pure profit, plain and simple. They would PREFER that you pay late, because they can raise your interest to 30 percent or higher, and hit you up for $39 per month.

@lawnmowerdeth: The whole point about the grace period is that it affects how much time you have to pay your bill. In the above hypothetical situation, if the billing cycle ends on the Jan 15, and you must pay by Feb 5, the Jan 15 bill gets mailed on the 16 or 17 (but not on weekends). Then it gets delivered to one's house around Jan 20 (or later, if there are weekends or holidays). Now, in the best case scenario, you have 15 days to submit your payment. And by submit payment, I mean mail the payment in and have them enter the payment in their system.

One more reason to pay online...

I transferred a balance to a CitiCard for the 0% interest rate. Then was late by 3 days on my second payment. Was charged the late fee of $39 and according to the terms I had defaulted and was back up to a 20% interest rate and charged accordingly. Called up Citi and spoke to Beverly. I explained the situation and within minutes she had put me to the promotional 0% interest rate AND refunded the interest rate charge. Unfortunately she couldn't refund the late fee, which I completely understand and completely fine with paying. It's amazing what can be done if you just ask nicely.