How To Ask Your Credit Card Company To Remove A Late Fee
The Short Version
- 89% of credit card holders who asked to have a late fee removed had it removed.
- The call takes about 10 minutes and costs nothing.
- Nobody is promised a yes. Ask once for each fee, then pay on time from here.
Does Asking Work?
For most people who asked, yes. A credit card company can remove a late fee when you ask, and it helps when you usually pay on time.
What Do You Need Before You Call?
Your statement with the late fee on it, the amount of the fee, and the date you paid. Call the number on the back of your credit card.
What Do You Say?
I wrote the call out word for word, including what to ask if they say no.
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The script is in an email from Nadia Fixes Money.
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How Do You Avoid The Next One?
Set up an automatic payment for at least the minimum, and a reminder 3 days before the due date. You can still pay more by hand.
Next Steps
- Look at the same statement for an annual fee: how to ask about it.
- Ask for a lower interest rate on the same call.
- Take the 1 minute quiz: Which Stage Are You In?
Questions People Ask
Is the late payment gone too?
The fee and the late payment are separate. Removing the fee does not change what was reported. Pay on time from here.
What if they say no?
Ask whether someone else can review it. If the answer is still no, ask again after 6 months of on-time payments.
Source for the 89% figure: LendingTree survey of 2,050 U.S. consumers, May 2025.