Same Day Late Fees
If you are even five minutes late on your credit card payment it could potentially cost you $35. You see, even though your due date may be the 25th of the month, upon further inspection of your statement, you might see it's actually due by 12:00 p.m. If you are even a minute late, you could be charged a fee. Also, be aware of time zones and the fact that 12:00 pm in New York would mean 9:00 am in California.

Tip: Check your statement each month for the due date and pay it accordingly. It always helps to pay several days before the statement is due.



Increased Interest Rates for Late Payments
Credit card companies may forgive your late payment, but they could still hurt you by raising your rate. If you missed a payment and have always paid on time, you might call and complain until they reverse the late-payment fee. However, the following month, you you could find that you are being charged a much higher interest rate because you were late on a payment. If this happens, you might want to think about transferring your balance to a 0% introductory rate credit card, so you will not have to deal with the high rates. Just make sure that you stop using your old card and that you read the terms for the new one.

Tip: Always pay your credit cards on time.



Interest Rate Increase Because of Other Accounts
Your credit card company will find anything they can to raise your interest rates. In fact, they frequently check your credit report to look for any late payments on your other cards or loans in order to raise your rate on their credit card. So, if you are late on your auto payment or utility bill, you might find your rates rise on all of your cards.

Tip: Always pay all of your credit cards on time.



International Fees
In addition to the one percent currency exchange fee on most credit cards, some major banks are also charging a two percent fee on credit card and debit card purchases made outside the United States. After a vacation's worth of spending, those fees will drastically add up. Plus, if you factor in that the Euro is much stronger than the dollar, you could be pretty shocked when you come back from your European vacation.

Tip: Plan for your vacation by finding the best card for overseas trips, this will help to keep the fees in check.



Dwindling Grace Periods
Many credit card companies are making the grace period twenty days.(The grace period is the time between the the statement and the payment dates.) This means that you could already be paying interest for several days even though you may be paying off your credit card each month.

Tip: Watch for these hidden fees.



Annual Fees
If you sign up for a credit card, make sure to look at any automatic fees that the card might have. Many cards, particularly those that are offered to individuals with less than stellar credit, have yearly fees of around $100 dollars a year and monthly maintenance fees of around $10 a month. These are automatically added onto the card so that you are paying interest.

Tip: Read the terms of credit card very closely and pay attention to any fees that might automatically be applied.