Here’s a cool little fact: for most credit cards, you can change the payment due date.
Why would I do this? For one, you can arrange it so that all your credit cards are due on the same day. This takes pressure off having to remember which one is which, and you can pay all in one fellow swoop.
If your budget is tight, you can balance your payments with your paycheck. If simultaneous mortgage/rent, utilities, and credit card payments tend to drain your accounts, moving due dates can create a buffer in your savings.
However, this is not a credit card debt solution. A different due date won’t lighten your debt, or make a hefty bill any easier to pay.
Does it affect my credit score? No. But if you forget your new due date and pay at the old time, that counts as a late payment. There’s no grace period for slip ups.
How do I do it? All you need to do is call your creditor’s customer service and ask for a due date change. That’s it.
So, what’s the catch? You need to find out the fine print when talking over the telephone. Here are some questions worth asking:
How many times a year can I change my due date?
Every issuer has a somewhat different policy. Citibank allows only one change per year. Others offer more opportunities. In fact, American Express lets you pay your bill any time before its closing date, so you don’t even need to make an official change.
How far away from my current due date can I shift the payment?
A change to a Discover card must be more than five days from the current due date. MBNA (issuer of MasterCard) is extremely flexible. Your creditor might be somewhere in between.
How many billing cycles will it be before this takes effect?
Typically, it is at least two. If the issuer isn’t able to provide a precise answer, you need to examine your bills extremely carefully to make sure you’re not paying on the wrong date.
And don’t forget interest. It will continue to accrue, including the period after a date change.
Anyway: my name is Alexander Carl. I am a recent graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where I spent four blissful years earning a degree in Communication Studies. Now I face the real world of economic downturns, student loans, and the absence of “academic” camaraderie.
Yet I refuse to be bummed. My economic philosophy is to live simply, save, and maximize whatever I can. Consumer culture is undeniably pervasive, but you don’t have to sell your soul to co-exist with it— there is great power from using your economic resources wisely.
I started writing when I figured out how to hold a pencil. Since then I’ve written short stories, poetry, screenplays, and have blogged. In fact, three of my screenplays have been produced into short films, two of which I directed. I’m no stranger to the media, having served as a DJ at a freeform radio station and worked as a crew member for live TV.
Pastimes include traveling (I’ll visit virtually anywhere), swimming, jogging, hiking, and hunkering down with a good movie.
Overall I’m a peaceful person, though not in a creepy New Agey way. I get my energy from music, good conversation, and the outdoors (I was an active Boy Scout, earning my Eagle). I consider myself “inquisitive” and “wry”, and for the sake of autobiography I’ll assume that I am.
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