Don’t just pay the minimum payment. Increasing your monthly credit card payment helps you pay off your balance sooner and at a lower cost. Falling behind by more than 30 days also impacts your credit score. If your payment is more than 60 days late, your credit card issuer may raise your interest rate to the highest penalty rate. Your billing statement is often the first alert to any fraudulent activity on your account. Always read your billing statement, if only to make sure that all the charges are accurate and that payments have been applied to your account correctly. The charge-off listing will remain on your credit report for seven years and could affect your ability to get credit cards and loans in the future. It takes six months of missed payments to get to charge-off status. Bring delinquent accounts current before it gets to that point. Review the terms of your credit card at least once or twice a year. You can find them at your credit card issuer’s website or request them from customer service.
