Received my GAP VISA bill and noticed a statement on the bill that I had triggered a penalty rate. Called and found that this had occurred because I had been late on my payments twice in a calendar year, once in Feb 09 (1 day late) and once in Aug 09 (4days late). I have had this card since Nov. 07 with no other late payments. They also indicated that they have shortened their billing cycle to 23 days. I asked if they offered any grace period the response was that (in my case) they sent the bill on Aug 24th, due on Sept 16th and that this should suffice as my grace period. I am one that gets paid every two weeks, so the dates of my checks vary from month to month. My frustration lies in the fact that there is no variance in their policy.
Some may say that being late at all is my fault, which I accept. However, every other card I have has anywhere from 7 -10 days of grace period. I presume this is to allow for potential delays in the postal service or things of similar nature. To me this is another example of the "bullying" tactics of credit card issuers we hear about daily. I have since closed my account and called GAP to let them know they have lost my business until such time as they reevaluate their relationship with the credit card holder. Who by the way is GE Money Bank. Once again my fault for being late (1 day & 4 days). So for all out there, beware, no lenience at this place. And to add had I been 10 days late or more, my mouth would have remained shut!