Why I Changed the Due Dates on My Credit Cards

Could this work for you, too?

I have two different credit cards that I use on a regular basis. One of the cards used to have a due date at the beginning of the month and the other near the end of the month. I always want to pay my credit card balance in full when the statement comes so I can avoid high interest charges, so for years I made these two separate payments when the bills came due.

Not too long ago, though, I made a change. I asked my credit card companies to shift the due dates for my payments. Both agreed to do so, as many card issuers will. And it's been a big improvement for me. Here's why I made the request.

Changing my due dates simplified my money management process

There were two big reasons why I changed the due dates on my credit cards.

First and foremost, I wanted to make sure I had plenty of money in my checking account when the payments were due so I could set up automatic payments for the full balance.

See, I don't keep a lot of extra money in my checking account because I don't earn any interest on the account, and because I have set up automatic transfers of funds to different savings and investment accounts. But I also wanted to set up autopay for my credit cards and ensure the automatic payment took care of the full balance. I like to automate everything, including my payments, so I don't have to spend as much time managing my money.

Unfortunately, when one payment was at the beginning of the month and the other at the end, this complicated things. I get one paycheck in the middle of the month (on the 15th) because of the way I've structured the company that I do my freelance writing through. So I had to juggle things to make sure I had money in the account when the auto payments were taken out.

Rather than deal with this stress and hassle, I simply asked my card issuers to change my due dates to the 17th. That way, my paycheck is deposited right before the payments come out, and since I always budget to keep my spending below what I earn, I have the confidence of knowing the cash will be there to pay my credit card bills without any effort or intervention on my part.

While this was the main reason for making the change, I also like the fact that now both of my cards are paid at the same time so I only have to sign into my accounts on one particular day to check that the payments processed properly. I don't have to remember to do this multiple times per month.

Can and should you change the due date on your own cards?

If you have multiple credit card payments due on different days or if your card payments are due at an inconvenient time relative to your paycheck, there's little reason not to ask your card issuer to shift the payment date to one that's more convenient for you. While it may take a few billing cycles to take effect, there's no cost or downside to doing this, and most card companies are eager to cooperate.