Can you read and understand your credit card statement?

Credit card issuers have a legal requirement to send your monthly credit card statement at least 21 days before your minimum payment due date. Billing statement usually consist of one or two pages containing all the information about what you’ve charged, how much you paid last month, what payments you need to make, and the date by which your payment must be received to avoid penalties and fees.

The account summary gives you an overview of your credit card account status. Here you’ll find your current balance, fees and interest charged since your last billing statement, the amount of credit you have available, and the date your billing cycle closed. This is usually the first section on your credit card statement because it contains some of the most important information. Keep in mind that payments and transactions that posted to your account after the billing cycle closed won’t be reflected on this credit card statement. However, if you log in into your online account, that balance will typically include your most recent activity.

The most important part about your statement in the payment information section, this part lists the payment you must make to avoid late payment penalties. This section also includes your minimum payment and payment due date. If you pay less than the minimum or your payment is received after the due date, you could be charge a late fee and it will also impact your credit in a negative way, your interest rate will also increase if you are 60 days or more late and have all 3 bureaus show as a late payment which will hurt you credit score. There’s a late payment warning in each credit card statement that not a lot of people know about, but this section explains the consequences if your payment is late including fees and interest rate charges.

 

Here at Credit Services of America we like to understand what’s the reason behind those late payments and we will take the time to explain how those late payments can impact your credit score and how we can help fix those accounts for you.

A Goal without a Plan is just a Wish. Give us a call TODAY at 844-FIX-URCR or click on the following link creditservicesofamerica.com to schedule your FREE consultation and create your personalize plan to achieve your credit and debt GOALS!

 

*Individual results may vary. Please call for more