Best credit cards with no late fees

Applying for a credit card haphazardly is never the answer to improved financial well-being. But nobody is perfect, and sometimes credit card statement due dates can slip from your mind, causing you to miss a payment. This is why credit cards with no late fees or a forgiveness policy are helpful. If you’ve been planning to apply for a credit card with a one-time or general no-late-fee policy, here are four options to keep in mind.

Comparing the best cards with no late fees

Top cards with no late fees

Discover it Cash Back

Discover it® Cash Back

Rating: 4.4 stars out of 5

4.4

• Bankrate's view

  The main feature of the Discover it Cash Back is its cash back rewards on rotating categories each quarter. With the Discover it Cash Back, there’s no fee the first time you miss a bill payment, but you will owe up to $41 for late payments in the future. If you’re paying off credit card debt or a large purchase with the card, its lack of a penalty APR is an added bonus.

  Additionally, the card doesn’t charge an annual fee, and at the end of your first year, Discover matches all the cash back you’ve earned over those first 12 months. This means if you accumulate $200 in cash back rewards, the welcome bonus will bring you to $400 cash back in total.

• Pros and cons

  

  Pros

  • You’ll pay $0 for the first late payment, then up to $41 thereafter.
  • Discover matches all the cash back you earn at the end of your first year.
  • This card carries no annual fee.

  

  Cons

  • You need a good to excellent credit score to be approved.
  • Activation is required to earn on reward categories.
  • Categories rotate, but you won’t know which categories are upcoming.

Best for paying off debt

Citi Simplicity® Card

• Bankrate's view

  If your main focus is putting an end to your credit card debt, the Citi Simplicity Card offers one of the longest introductory APR periods on balance transfers and doesn’t charge late fees or a penalty APR. Though many issuers offer some wiggle room when it comes to payment due dates, Citi Simplicity cardholders automatically have the option to choose their due date. This flexibility can come in handy if you’re more reliant on the timing of your paychecks.

• Pros and cons

  

  Pros

  • This card has no annual fee.
  • It has one of the longer intro APR offers on the market.
  • Citi doesn’t charge a penalty APR for missing a payment.

  

  Cons

  • There’s no welcome bonus aside from the intro APR.
  • You won’t earn rewards on purchases.
  • This card carries a foreign transaction fee.

Best for building credit

Petal® 2 "Cash Back, No Fees" Visa® Credit Card

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

5

• Bankrate's view

  One of the Petal 2 “Cash Back, No Fees” Visa Credit Card ’s main selling points is its “no fee” policy. Cardholders don’t owe an annual fee and won’t be charged late fees for missed payments or foreign transaction fees for purchases made abroad.

  The Petal 2 Visa is a great option for building both healthy card habits and your credit. You start off with 1 percent cash back on eligible purchases, but after making six on-time monthly payments in a row, you receive an additional 0.25 percent, then another 0.25 percent after 12 on-time monthly payments. An added bonus of the Petal 2 Visa is its accompanying mobile app. Within the app, you can create your own budgets, keep up-to-date on changes to your score and track your cash back rewards.

• Pros and cons

  

  Pros

  • You won’t pay an annual fee to use this card.
  • It offers a long intro APR offer, which isn’t common on cards with rewards.
  • You won’t get slapped with a penalty APR should you miss a payment.

  

  Cons

  • This card has no welcome offer, which hurts the upfront value of the card.
  • This card charges a foreign transaction fee, which makes it a poor choice for making purchases abroad.

Best for college students

Discover it® Student Cash Back

Rating: 5 stars out of 5

5

• Bankrate's view

  Similar to the Discover it Cash Back, the Discover it Student Cash Back waives the fee for your first late payment. This means if you can’t pay your bill on time one month, you won’t be penalized. After that, though, you will be responsible for up to a $41 late payment fee.

  The Discover it Student Cash Back operates on the same 5 percent cash back calendar shared by all Discover cash back cardholders, earning 5 percent cash back on each quarter’s activated rotating categories (on up to $1,500 in combined purchases, then 1 percent). You also receive the same welcome offer as the Discover it Cash Back, meaning Discover matches all the cash back rewards you earn at the end of your first year.

• Pros and cons

  

  Pros

  • This card comes with Discover’s excellent Cash Back Match welcome offer.
  • It has good rewards rates, which is a rarity on student cards.
  • The card has no annual fee, foreign transaction fee or penalty APR, which makes it among the more forgiving cards on the market.

  

  Cons

  • The card is only available to college students.
  • You won’t know the upcoming rotating categories ahead of time.
  • It lacks additional benefits or features outside of credit building.

How to choose the right no-late-fee card for you

There aren’t many credit cards that don’t charge late payment fees, so your options are limited. Still, some cards skip out on the late fees while offering great benefits like cash back and no annual fees. Here are a few steps that can help you find the best card for you: 

1. Find out your credit score: To narrow your credit card options, you need to know which cards are within your credit range. This also lets you see where you are in your overall credit journey, allowing you to create future financial goals.
2. Check all the fees: When comparing cards, make sure to look at the terms and conditions to learn all the fees that come with them. Some cards promote their best features while hiding various fees in the fine print. So, while there may be no late fee on the card, other fees could make the card too expensive.
3. Look at the additional features: It’s best to look for a card with long-term value, especially since you should strive to avoid late fees through on-time payments. Popular credit card perks and features are free FICO score access, rewards, APR offers and sign-up bonuses.
4. See if you can get preapproved: When you apply for a credit card, the lender will perform a hard pull on your credit, which can temporarily ding your score. Some cards offer preapproval so you can check your approval odds for the card without taking a big credit hit.

Frequently asked questions

• Can credit card late fees be waived?

  Yes. Some credit cards offer late fee forgiveness as a benefit, especially those geared towards beginners and those with fair or bad credit. Depending on your credit habits, issuers may occasionally waive a late payment if you ask. 

• Are other fees higher on cards with no late fees?

  Not necessarily. They can be relatively low-cost, like the Discover it Cash Back, which has no annual fee, penalty APR or foreign transaction fees. 

• How much are late fees typically?

  Late fees on credit cards are usually around $40. There may be a grace period between your due date and when the late fee is applied but you’ll have to double check with your issuer.

The bottom line

No “fee-free” card can save you from neglecting your credit card bill each month, so be sure you have the financial stability to handle the card’s minimum payments, at the very least. And late payments aren’t the only delinquency that harms your score. Using too much of your available credit and carrying high balances can hurt your score.

But if you are new to credit cards or trying to break a bad habit, having a safety net of a no-late-fee card doesn’t hurt. Just ensure the additional fees on the card don’t make the card too expensive for you to carry, even without the late payment fee.