What is the "payment due date"?

[trader_4]

+1

I also don't understand the nuance between "the date they have to receive your payment by" and "the date you have to pay by". To me, in the context we're talking about, they are one and the same. If a payment is due on the

10th, that means the recipient has to receive it by then.

Exactly. That's what I do. I go to the credit card company website and pay it there. Like you say, they credit it the same day, provided you meet a cutoff, which might be 5 - 8PM, or as late as midnight. Provided you pay it that way by the deadline, you get credited for it, even if the credit card company doesn't collect from your bank account for a couple days because of weekends, holidays, etc.

I don't even understand the concept of going to your local financial institution to pay a bill to someone else. How exactly does that work? I used to mail them, then switched to just paying it at the credit card website. The problem here appears to be that the transaction is being handled via telling his bank to pay the credit card company, instead of going to the credit card company, entering a debit against your bank account and leaving it up to them to collect. In the former case, the credit card company doesn't know that you've done anything until whenever your bank finally sends the money over. In the latter case, your payment is entered into their system, they know it was made by the due date, they give you credit for it, and then they collect it, sometimes a few days later. They've never charged me late fees for that. The real problems here appear to be the method used, cutting it too close, and having a bank that's slow as a snail.

[dpb]

On 4/26/2014 8:26 AM, dpb wrote: ...

The other advantage is that way one also has the transaction confirmation number for backup if should need it...

[RobertMacy]

It's not just 3.54. it's the fact that they stole from you. Don't let them get away with it at all!

Once I missed a payment, and truly missed, I forgot. Our VISA server, Bank of America, as a courtesy removed late charges AND any interest charges.

Culmination is ASK! And, don't stop asking until you reach someone WITH authority. And having AUTHORITY means that person has the ability to say, yes. ANYBODY can say no. That's NOT authority.

Also, food for thought. Remember the days when credit cards were mailed out willy nilly? Seemed like the stupidest business technique in the world until I realized that just before ALL these cards got mailed out, the laws changed allowing for extensive late AND penalty fees to be added. Thus, the banks sent out credit cards to ANYBODY. If the person used the card responsibly, the banks made money. If they used the cards irresponsibly, got into debt, but still managed to pay off the cards; the banks made huge money. AND, this is what irritated me the most, if the people simply used the cards, defaulted; the banks froze the card and got to add penalties, then fees and penalties, often taking the balance due way beyond 2 to 3 times what was owed BEFORE the bank cancelled the card, placing it into 'default'. NOW the bank has a legitmate paper loss that due to their accounting system gets to 'write off' against other incomes. AND THUS, the banks still made money. A real win-win situation for the banks, but not for you and me, as taxpayers, we helped pay for that. So, when I get 'niggled' on ANY account; I complain like crazy, even sometimes when I legitimately owe that money, like the example above.

[Peter]

If you always pay your Visa statement balance in full and never ever make a partial payment, consider setting up an "autopay" arrangement. You cite the routing number and account number of the savings or checking account you want to be debited for the Visa balance, and the payment is automatically, electronically paid on the due day. You will still get a paper copy of the statement in the mail at the same time of the month as you do at present, but it will have a comment on it that the balance will be deducted from a designated account in accordance with your previous instructions. You can still dispute errors and/or apparently fraudulent charges. Very convenient.

[trader_4]

How exactly is it that the credit card company "stole" from him? The credit card company just charged $3.50 in interest because the payment was not made on time. The credit card company is 100% in the right, and the OP is wrong. Everyone knows that the payment due date doesn't mean that you can start the payment process by mail or some other means by that date and hope that it gets there. It means they have to receive the payment by that date. He apparently started some payment process by going to his local bank branch 4 days before the due date. The credit card company had nothing to do with that. If anything, maybe his own local bank is responsible for taking 6 days to complete a payment request. That is who I'd be miffed at, not the credit card company.

Yeah, the credit card company is so evil and greedy that all they are charging apparently is the $3.50 in interest. Most credit card companies would charge a $35 late payment fee.

[sam E]

[snip]

I once bought a DVR because of an advertised rebate.

The DVR was shipped in 3 days.

The rebate took several months.

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, Almost all bill payment is set up that way. I got dinged couple years ago. My property tax payment wsa due during my absence from home(my fault not remembering) When I got back home I rushed to pay it but city charged hefty late payment penalty. Since I set up auto debit on most bills. Peace of mind. Just I make sure enough fund is available in my checking account all the time.

[Robert Green]

That's my take. I don't know why people don't pay the bill on the day it comes or soon after. (Lack of funds, maybe, but why spend money you don't have?) You've already spent the money and the bank is actually giving *you* an interest-free loan if you pay the entire bill by the due date. With interest rates below 1%, any savings you might gain by paying as late as you can is offset by the steep charges you can incur if you miss. Not worth the effort or risk, IMHO.

Delaying making a payment also risks that the bill will get lost or forgotten and both events have costly outcomes. CC companies will usually forgive ONE late payment for good customers, but not two. If I miss two payments I also lose any bonus points I've accrued. *Really* not worth it.

[Robert Green]

Apparently not everyone knows that or we wouldn't be having this discussion. (-:

Indeed. What I can't understand is that if you're only getting 1% or less interest in checking/savings, what do you really save by waiting until the last minute to pay the bill? The upside is you might save all of a quarter in interest (more likely a dime or less). The downside is you get hit for $35 and interest fees trying to save a dime. It's not like you haven't eaten the meals or burned the gas that you bought on the card. You got to use the bank's money for free for up to a month. Yet some people want to save a dime on top of that, even if the downside is so steep compared to the savings. I don't get it.

[Robert Green]

One card can't be paid from my bill paying service (competing companies) so I have to write a check but the other card is automagically paid from my savings account. Much better arrangement.