Learn 5 Dirty Tricks Credit Card Companies Like to Play

While your credit card company might like to pretend they have your best interests at heart, it turns out that’s not always the case. Credit card companies, like most other businesses, have ‘loopholes’ in place to drain every cent they can from you.

Being aware of these tactics is the best defense. Otherwise, you’ll be paying astronomical interest rates and navigating through a minefield of penalties that are only mentioned in the very fine print of your credit card agreement.

Explore the following ways to monitor your interest rate and avoid those penalties:

1. The grace periods are shrinking or don’t exist at all. Back in the good old days, you had 30 days to pay your balance without suffering the financial burden of paying any interest. Most cards now have a grace period of either 20 or 25 days.

• Some credit cards have no grace period. This means that the interest starts accruing the moment you make your purchase and continues increasing until you pay off the balance.
• If you want to use your card and not pay any interest, find out when your company starts charging interest. The longer the grace period, the better.

2. Fixed interest rates aren’t really fixed. It would seem that a fixed interest rate card would actually be ‘fixed,’ but it’s not. Credit card companies can actually change rates whenever they please.

• To change your rate, all that’s required is a 15-day notice to you as the cardholder.
• Your credit card company is hoping you don’t pay attention to those pesky notices they send in the mail from time to time. That’s how they try to deceive you.
• Be certain you’re actually reading the mail from your credit card companies.

3. One late payment can result in 2 penalties. You might be all too familiar with the Late Payment Fee, which can be as high as $35. There’s also another possible fee that can be incurred: The Penalty Rate. This penalty can be charged if a payment is made 60+ days late.