By David
Card payment is not just a ritualistic chore. Most all of us these days know how to put purchases on our credit cards and even how to pay those purchases off when we get our statement at the end of the month. However, what many do not know is that there are some other — often times more convenient — methods for making a card payment.
Send a check
This is the method you are likely most familiar with. You get your statement at the end of the month, sit down with your checkbook, fill out a check for the appropriate amount, and then seal, address, and stamp your envelope before finally sending out a card payment. This method, while familiar takes a fair amount of time out of your day and can take a few days to arrive meaning your card company may try to charge a late fee. While these fees can be removed with a phone call to customer service so long as the payment was postdated before your due date, it is more time wasted and an extra hassle none of us need.
Over the phone
A new option for making a card payment open to bill payers is to call customer service to make your payment. This approach has a few advantages over the traditional method. First and most notable is personalized service from an actual person. They walk you through the process and help you make your payment, even offering time saving options for future payments like saving your information. The other great advantage is the flexibility in how and when you can pay. You can still pay with a check if you prefer, or you can use your debit card instead; and with everyone owning a cell phone these days you can literally do this from anywhere. So if you find yourself at work and realize you forgot to send out that card payment, don’t worry. You can call on your break and make a payment right over the phone in a matter of minutes.
Online
The last and arguably the best option available for making a payment is the online method. Every credit card company has a website that you can use to access your account, see a list of transactions, and make a card payment. The best feature of this method is the ability to save your payment information once you’ve entered it the first time. This allows you to log in and make a card payment in just a fraction of the time, or even set up automatic payments so you never need to login again. The automatic payments feature, once set up will simply charge you (typically through a debit card) the minimum balance due for that month without needing any input from you. This is great for those times when you accidently forget to pay one month as it helps you to avoid late fees.
So the next time you go to make a card payment be sure to consider what method is going to work best for you.
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