Why You Can't Afford to Be Late With a Credit Card Bill Even Once

A single late payment could cause a lot of damage.

As a credit card holder, you know you're supposed to pay your bills on time every month. And to be clear, you're considered timely even if you're only able to make your minimum payment.

But sometimes, things happen. You might simply forget to make a payment on a credit card. Or, you might run out of money in your checking account, forcing you to be late with a payment even though you haven't forgotten about it.

You might think that a single late credit card payment isn't such a big deal. But actually, it could cause extensive damage to your credit score.

The damage can be significant

Your payment history, which measures how timely you are in paying bills, is the most influential factor in calculating your credit score. Experian confirms that it accounts for about 35% of your score. So it stands to reason that if you're dinged in that area, your credit score could drop quite a bit.

Once you're late with a credit card payment, the issuer in question is likely to report that activity to the credit bureaus. And depending on your credit score, that single late payment could have a huge impact.

Now, this may seem counterintuitive, but actually, the higher your credit score, the more damage a single late payment might cause. The reason? If you're someone who has a lower credit score, it means you've probably had a string of late payments already, and so another one isn't such a big deal (even though it's not a good thing). But if a late payment is an unusual thing for you, it might cause your score to drop by a larger number of points.

Worse yet, a single late payment on a credit card could remain on your credit report for up to seven years. Thankfully, its impact on your credit score will wane over time. But either way, that's a black mark that could stay on your record much longer than you'd like it to, so your best bet is to avoid being late with a credit card payment if you can.

How to avoid a late credit card payment

Setting calendar reminders could help you avoid late credit card payments due to forgetfulness. But often, it's a lack of money, not a lack of remembering, that causes consumers to be late paying their bills.

To avoid that fate, aim to build yourself an emergency fund so you have cash reserves to tap in case you can't make your minimum payment in a given month. And also, make a point of checking your credit card balances every week.

That way, if you see your balances starting to creep upward, it might prompt you to stop spending. It might also prompt you to spread your purchases out more carefully so as to allow certain charges to hit your next billing cycle, buying you some breathing room.

Finally, if you're late with a credit card payment but it's the first time that's happened, and you've had your card open for a long time, call your credit card issuer, explain the situation, and ask for a little leeway. If you're able to make your minimum payment on the spot, in some cases, your credit card company might agree not to report you as delinquent on that payment. This isn't guaranteed to work, but it's worth a try if it means potentially avoiding credit score damage.