If your card offers a free grace period your bill must be mailed 14 days before your payment is due. This is to ensure that you have enough time to make your payment before the due date. However if your bill is mailed to a distant location 14 days is not a long time because your bill must be mailed to you and your payment received by the company by the due date. Note: Payment to your account is credited on the date the payment is received, NOT on the date you mailed the payment.
Annual Fees
Most credit cards issued by a financial institution involve an annual fee. Merchant issued credit cards generally do not charge an annual fee.
Although most multipurpose cards assess a fee, the fees vary in amount and some cards are available without a fee. For example, some credit unions offer cards to members without assessing a fee. Some financial institutions offer cards without fees to depositors with certain types of accounts. Some credit card companies offer to waive the first year's annual fee to attract new card holders.
Transaction Fees
Most cards issued by financial institutions can be used to obtain cash in advance. Fees charged vary according to the system used. It is important to compare these charges.
Late Fees
Most credit card issuers assess a late fee if a payment is not made on the account by a specified date.
Credit Ceilings
Credit card issuers usually set a maximum amount on the credit available to a card holder. If the line of credit is not sufficient, the card holder can request a higher credit ceiling. If the card holder's income and credit history justify it, most companies will increase the amount of credit available up to levels established by company policy.
Since multipurpose cards can be used at many locations some holders exceed their credit limits. To discourage this practice most card issuers impose a fee for exceeding the credit limit. This fee is added each month that the account exceeds the credit limit.
