Visa Credit Card Fees

Owning a Visa credit card offers financial freedom and ease of payment but one has to pay Visa card charges to enjoy these privileges. Financial institutions charge several types of Visa card fees for offering credit card services.

Owning a Visa credit card offers financial freedom and ease of payment but one has to pay Visa card charges to enjoy these privileges. Financial institutions charge several types of Visa card fees for offering credit card services.

Types of Visa Card Charges

• APR (annual percentage rate): The credited value on the cardholder’s account will be compounded on an annual percentage rate (APR). This interest rate usually ranges between 10% and 25%. However, it can peak to 40% in poor credit circumstances. The APR depends on the prime rate and is charged on purchases, balance transfer and cash advances. In today’s competitive market, many financial institutions offer zero percent introductory APR on Visa credit cards.

Read your monthly billing statement thoroughly to know the interest rate. With an increasing outstanding amount, the interest rate will surge. Hence, one should clear all monthly dues on time to enjoy low a APR.

• Annual fees: This is an annual subscription fees for credit card benefits. One can find Visa credit cards with or without annual fees. Individuals with good credit ratings can always opt for a Visa card with no annual fees. However, for a person with poor credit history, there is no option but to pay the fee. Annual Visa card fees may range from $100 to $350. For exclusive Visa cards with special privileges, the annual fees might be as high as $2,000.

 

• Foreign transaction fee: Some Visa card issuers may charge you for making purchases in foreign currency.
• Balance transfer fee: Balance transfer is when an amount is transferred into your account from another account. One has to pay Visa card charges against such a transfer.
• Late payment fees: Failing to pay the credit card bill before the due date can be a nightmare for the cardholder. The issuing institution will not only charge a penalty, but can also hike the interest rate on purchases. The penalty charges may vary from $15 to $40 but the interest rate hike can be substantial. However, one can inform the credit card issuer about the late payment or non-payment and work out some arrangement to avoid an interest rate hike.
• Over-the-credit-limit fee: Every Visa card has a maximum credit limit for purchases. However, the card can be swiped for purchases beyond the maximum limit. In such as case, the cardholder has to pay anywhere between $15 and $35 for exceeding the pre-determined limit. A better alternate is to request the issuer to enhance the credit limit, if a large purchase is made using a Visa card.
• Card replacement fees: If the Visa card is lost or stolen, the financial institution will reissue a Visa card against payment of the card replacement fee. Generally, the issuer charges nominal fees for this purpose.

An individual should read the terms and conditions of credit card usage to get information about the applicable charges.

‘Visa’ is the registered trademark of Visa Inc., who can be found at www.visa.com