What you should know about late credit card payments

A credit card payment is considered late when it’s paid after the due date. But late payments don’t typically impact credit scores unless they’re more than 30 days late. 

What you’ll learn:

• Lenders determine payment deadlines.

• Monthly due dates might change slightly based on weekends and holidays, particularly for mailed payments.

• Generally, credit card payments that are more than 30 days overdue could be reported to credit bureaus, where they may appear on your credit report and affect your credit scores.

• Beyond its impact on credit, a late credit card payment can also result in late fees, interest charges and rate increases.

If your credit card payment isn’t received by 5 p.m. local time on the due date indicated on your billing statement, it’s usually considered late, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). If the due date falls on a Sunday or a holiday, you usually have until the next business day for your card issuer to receive your payment.

Late payment policies can vary. For example, if branches or offices close before 5 p.m., card issuers could set the payment cutoff earlier in the day. Check with your credit card issuer to learn more.

There are possible consequences for paying a credit card bill late.

If your payment is late, you could be charged a late payment fee. It’s also important to know that if you pay less than the minimum amount due, it will likely still be considered a late payment even if you pay your bill on time.

Some credit card issuers have a penalty annual percentage rate (APR) that triggers if you make a late payment. 

If you’re at least 60 days late, your card issuer might even increase the interest rate on your existing balances. And if your interest rate increases, you’ll be charged more interest on your unpaid balance—which could increase your credit card debt even more. But not all card issuers have APR penalties for late payments, and exceptions may apply. You could check with your card provider for details.

If a payment is more than 30 days late, it could be reported to the three major credit bureaus, Equifax®, Experian® and TransUnion®. This could cause your credit scores to decrease. But if you make the full payment before the 30-day period ends, your card issuer might not report it to the credit bureaus.

Missing a minimum payment or paying late can increase your balance if a late fee is added to the account. Also, you might continue to be charged interest on your unpaid balance until your card issuer receives your payment in full.

If you don’t pay your credit card bill on time, you might not be able to use your card for new purchases until your account is made current. And if your credit card account goes 180 days—or six months—past due, your card issuer may close and charge off the account. In this case, the account is permanently closed and written off as a loss for the company. But you’ll still owe the debt.

The exact impact varies, but your scores will likely decrease. In some cases, a missed payment could cause scores to drop more than 100 points. What’s more, late credit card payments could show up on your credit reports for up to 7 years and may only be removed if reported erroneously. 

According to credit scorer FICO®, late payments are assessed based on the following criteria:

• How often late payments occur

• How recent the late payment is

• How extreme the late payment is

If you miss your payment by one day, your credit scores will likely remain unaffected. Lenders generally only report late payments to the three major credit bureaus when a credit card statement balance has gone unpaid for 30 days or more.

If you’re having trouble making payments, there are steps you can take to help address the issue before it gets worse.

• Pay what you can as soon as you can. A late payment likely won’t affect your credit score until it’s gone unpaid for at least 30 days.

• Ask your creditor about credit card late payment forgiveness. They might be able to work with you. In some cases, they may even waive late fees or penalty rates.

• Take advantage of your credit card’s late payment grace period. Most credit card issuers offer a grace period for purchases, according to the CFPB. This means new purchase transactions typically won’t start accumulating interest until after your payment due date, which could buy you some time.

• Opt for automatic payments in the future. Setting up automatic payments can be helpful. You can connect your credit card to a bank account and specify how and when you’d like to transfer your funds to pay off or pay down your balance. If you’re a Capital One cardholder, you can set up AutoPay.

Late payments can lead to extra fees. And depending on the timing, they can also affect your credit. But knowing the effects of late payments and understanding what you can do to avoid them can help.

You can monitor your credit by requesting free credit reports from each of the three major credit bureaus at AnnualCreditReport.com. And with CreditWise from Capital One, you can check your credit score and credit report for free—all without hurting your credit score.

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