Pay credit card online and save yourself both time and money. If you are one of the millions of credit card users to have been hit by late fees and penalties, you know all too well about the importance of avoiding missed credit card payments. Despite our best efforts and intentions, though, life has its way of throwing unexpected emergencies our way.
Don’t let these incidences throw you off-track on your payments. In this article, we will share some simple, easy-to-implement strategies that will help you make your payment online and ALSO save money by automating and streamlining the overall process.
We generally create our posts in response to our user’s questions. Today we will address a common question “How do I pay my credit card online?” This basic guide provides some tips and strategies.
With most companies, the pay-by-phone option is still available for customers who prefer to speak with a “live person.” On the other hand, paying your credit card bill online can be accomplished through either your credit card company’s website or through your bank.
We will explain each of these in further detail:
Pay credit card online through your credit card company’s website
Fortunately, most credit card companies allow you to pay your credit card online through an automated Web-based system. Once you register your account and link a basic checking account on the site, you can schedule regular payments either automatically, at pre-specified intervals, or up to a year in advance.
If you keep a certain amount of money in your bank, using the auto pay feature is the most convenient option. You can specify on the company’s website whether you want to pay the full amount, minimum balance, or a pre-specified amount that you determine.
What you will need:
– Register your account information online (credit card company’s site)
– Link your checking account information to make the credit card payment (payment source)
– Ensure you have sufficient funds to cover the payment
– Establish payment frequency — one time, auto pay, schedule payments in advance, and other options.
This is a very convenient strategy to make a credit card payment online. In addition to paying the credit card bill itself, you can also use the company’s “online bill pay with credit card” feature to link other monthly bills with your account. The bill pay option would allow you to pay other monthly bills using your credit card. One caveat, though, make sure you don’t carry a high balance as you may accrue interest fees and other charges. The process should be a matter of convenience, not expense.
Remember, credit card companies could benefit financially if you exceed the grace period. It is in your best interest to avoid incurring interest charges. The card issuer would be happy to levy the interest on your account if you exceed the grace period.
Is there a fee to pay my credit card online?
In most cases, the bank will accept the payment and facilitate the transaction at no cost to you. If you pay your bills on time, it benefits them as well. So, in most cases there shouldn’t be a fee but it is always a good idea to check with your credit card company and review the fine print terms in detail. The last thing you would want is to pay another bill.
Pay your credit card bill through your bank
With larger credit card companies, setting-up online bill payments with your bank should be a very easy process. In most cases, you will be able to do it electronically. But if your credit card company does not offer a large network, online payments may not be feasible.
In this case, you can instruct your bank to pay your credit card bill via a physical check. Most bank bill payment systems offer this feature free.
What you will need:
– Create a bill pay account within your bank’s system
– Register a payment source (your checking account)
– Setup an account specifying your credit card company’s account information and other payment details, such as a mailing address
– Establish a payment frequency and an amount
– You can schedule payments in advance, setup auto pay, or perform the payment process manually
Key benefits of paying your credit card online
– Financial health/credit score. Research has shown that individuals who pay credit card bills online, end up with fewer penalties and a much higher credit score. Since the payments will be made on time, every single time the discipline and payment frequency will show up on your credit report and boost your overall credit score.
Apart from the benefits on overall financial health, paying credit card bills online has some minor additional benefits as well.
– Reminders. If there is an issue with your payment or if you miss your payment date, the system will be able to send you a reminder e-mail. This is certainly a very important benefit for busy professionals and over-worked individuals.
– Convenience. We love the fact that one can setup automated payments or schedule payments several months in advance. Even if you are on vacation or away for a business meeting, the online system will complete the payments in a disciplined manner.
– Other perks. Some credit card companies reward on-time payments with points, rewards, cash back bonuses, higher credit lines, and other similar incentives to encourage on-time payments. Why would you want to miss out on these benefits for payments that you will be making anyways.
– Support. If you use your credit card company’s payment system, you will be able to take advantage of the support, tools, and knowledge base created within the company’s infrastructure.
– Control. Most importantly, you will always be in control of how often and how much you pay. It is akin to delegating and micro-managing at the same time.
We hope you liked our article Pay Credit Card Online, Save Time And Money. If you found it useful, kindly let us know in the comments below. As always, we would be happy to assist you with any questions you may have. Our site helps consumers save money every month, so do check out our offers, deals, and tips at DontSpendMore.com.
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