Save on Credit Card Late Fees!

I don't know if I'm the only one who does this, but on the rare occasion that I mess up on sending in a credit card bill in a timely manner, I get pretty darn frustrated with a late fee, and when it's $35 or more, it's darn expensive too.

So instead, when I do see a late fee on my credit card bill, I call the bank and talk to one of the customer service representatives, saying something typically like:

"I don't know if you can do anything about it, but I was out of state for a few weeks and was unable to send in my bill in a timely manner. If you check my payment record, however, you'll see that I've always paid on time, so I'm hoping it's possible for you to reverse the late fee charge?"

Today, with Bank One, the customer service rep checked his computer and said "okay, you have a solid payment record. I'll credit you the $35 on your next bill."

You can't do this every month, obviously, but if, like me, you only see a late fee once in the proverbial blue moon, there's no reason not to spend a few minutes on the phone trying to save a few bucks (or more).