Reader Neurocat says he loves the rewards on his Capital One “No Hassles” Visa card. Cashing in points for $100 gift cards to Home Depot, Sears and the like is handy when you’ve just bought your first fixer-upper house. Then he was slightly late on two of his payments and the honeymoon was over.

After that, his APR shot up to a 29.40%, pretty much the highest allowable by law. When he called customer service, they told him that his late payments, which he made less than 30 days after the due date, had locked him into the penalty rate. Because of his otherwise spotless credit record, Capital One would be happy to lower it… in May of 2011.

See, Neurocat, they’re “No Hassles Rewards” cards. Earning and cashing in the rewards is a cinch, but late fees and penalty rates? Yep, those are still “Full Hassle.”

Transfer the balance to a lower interest credit card and try to pay it off soon and get back into the habit of paying your card off in full every month.

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