Credit cards are a valuable tool in today’s society, and have many benefits including improved cash flow and buyer security. However, credit cards have dangers too, and if they are used badly or you are unaware of the potential problems, you could end up paying out a lot of money and getting into debt. Here are some of the hidden dangers of credit cards, and how you can avoid them:
Default penalties
If you make a late payment on any bills at all, it could mean your interest rate and credit limit are affected. Even if your payment history is perfect on your credit card, late payments on other forms of credit or bills can give the credit card company an excuse to charge higher rates. To avoid this, make sure you try and pay all bills on time.
Short grace periods
Many cards used to have grace periods, meaning the period which your transactions don’t gather interest, of around 30 days. Now these grace periods are getting smaller, with many companies only offering grace periods of 20 or even no period at all. This means your balance will start accruing interest as soon as you buy something, and so you will still pay interest even if you pay the bill back at the end of the month in full.
Late payment fees
If you are even 1 day late with payment of your bill, then you will incur hefty late fees, which are usually around