Bottom line:
- To pay your bill, you can set up automatic payments, and the amount due will be deducted from your checking account. This is the best way to make sure you never miss a payment.
- You can also pay your bill by making a one-time payment through your credit card provider’s app or website.
- If you don’t pay your bill on time or in full each month, you may face interest charges and hurt your credit score.
How to make credit card payments
When it comes to paying your balance each month, you have a couple of options. You can set up autopay (automatic payments) through your credit card issuer’s app or website to ensure you never miss a payment. Most people choose to have the payment taken from their checking account on the due date or a specific date you set each month (as long as it’s not after the due date). Or you can make a one-time payment online or via the app.
Another good tool: account alerts, which you can set up to tell you whenever there’s a transaction on your card, so you’re always up to date on what you’re spending, or remind you that a payment is due.
If you’re wondering how interest rates, annual fees, and late fees or penalties such as charges for exceeding the limit you’re allowed to spend are calculated, this information is shown when you apply for a credit card. These are called disclosures, and you can always request them from whoever issued your card or read them online when you log into your account.
What to watch out for when making payments
Missing a payment, paying late, or paying only the minimum amount is where things get tricky. When you don’t pay off the full balance each month, you’ll incur interest, which is added to the balance you owe. And if you miss the payment due date, late fees will pop up. Both can hurt your credit score.
If you think you might be tempted to overspend, consider adding some guardrails on your card, like setting a spending limit, getting real-time transaction alerts sent to your phone, or turning off your card temporarily until you’ve caught up on payments.
Also important is not opening more than one account within a short period. To get approved for a card, the issuer makes what’s called a “hard inquiry” on your credit, and each of these lowers your credit score by a few points.
Explore more about credit cards
Learn more about applying for a CEFCU credit card and explore these resources that help answer common questions about credit cards and building good credit:
►How do credit cards work?
►What’s the best first credit card for me, and how do I get started?
►How do I use a credit card so it helps my credit instead of hurting it?
►What happens if I can’t pay my credit card, and how bad is credit card debt, really?
►Are credit card rewards actually worth it, or is cash back better?
