I will be honest. My wife and I overspent a tad so we will be a little late in paying off some of our credit cards. We are planning to pay them all off in February.

Is anyone having issues paying off their credit card this season?

I recant my previous message. I just missed 2 payments back to back months and they waived it for me both times!

I will say I have been successful if its the first time I made a late payment on that particular card or account. In my experience you usually have one freebie, but nothing after that.

Quit snail mail payments two years ago. Too much hassle and the worry the payment isn't received or posted in time. Lenders are not real flexible on late payments. Likely they have heard it all!

Paying off your balance every month is always the best option when it comes to credit cards, but that isn't always easy for most people. I've been in a situation before with a credit card company that claims that they didn't get my bill two months in a row. I've always sent out my payments over a week before the due date and conveniently they didn't receive them until the day after they were due. It's because of this that I now just pay everything online and I don't bother with mailing payments in.

Its certainly annoying to pay. It is always good to take control of your finances yourself. You never want to be out of control. I always try to pay off my credit card in full each month and try to limit my spending on my credit cards.

Remember, you need to contact the lender if you are going to cut up their cards. Your profile would still be active and things can happen. As to the affects on the credit bureaus ... lots of factors play in here like a thick credit file versus a thin credit file, amount of outstanding credit card debt (if none it will have virtually no impact since your utilization is near 0%). Your oldest account and average age of accounts get involved but cards reporting positive information generally stay on the CR for ten Years (note: not always). Utilization is the big one since the closed account may report good account performance for ten years but the credit limit will not factor into the utilization equation. Generally, closed accounts like inquiry's only affect your credit score for a short period of time. For myself, I close accounts based on the AF's, Credit limits, rewards and can I sustain all the accounts I have (another words use them). Today, I closed four accounts and reduced my available credit by over $40K+. I am in the withdrawal phase but the truth is, I can not use all the credit I have and the rewards were not worth the effort. Take my hit, suck it up and move on.

I'd cut them up, Patse, but then I need to worry about how doing that is going to impact my credit. It seems like a no win situation. Pickle, indeed!

Cents wrote: Well, the thing is that the credit card companies really know how to push our buttons to bring out a spiteful side, don't they? I've had many times when I went on rants saying I wasn't going to pay them, but at the last minute decided it wouldn't be in my best interest to do that.

I agree with you 100%. They have us in a pickle! Pay their fees or get information turned in to a credit agency. I keep saying I'm going to pay them off and cut them up.

The thing is ... they report us to the credit bureau for non-pay or late pay and we hold the bag and eat the bad results. They have us by the neck ;(

Well, the thing is that the credit card companies really know how to push our buttons to bring out a spiteful side, don't they? I've had many times when I went on rants saying I wasn't going to pay them, but at the last minute decided it wouldn't be in my best interest to do that.

You make a good point! Sometimes we "catch more bees with honey than vinegar".

Yup, I'm aware of that. I just wanted to make the point that if you find yourself in this situation and you're tempted to take a stubborn approach, it may not be the best idea. Unless you can prove that the credit card company violated the law or their terms, paying it is probably the best solution.

The post you are referring to is five years and five months old.