How To Cancel Recurring Bills On My Credit Card

Recurring Credit Card Bills

One of the biggest headaches any cardowner can have is a recurring credit card bill. For those who are not familiar with recurring credit card bills, it is exactly what it sounds like. A recurring charge to your credit card when you aren’t paying close enough attention to the things you’re buying.

Spending money on unnecessary things can throw your budget in the gutter or hinder your efforts to minimize credit card debt. If you end up carrying debt on your card, you may even end up incurring interest. Knowing the bills just go on and on could destroy your credit score, credit limit, and even damage your mental health if it becomes the only thing you think about.

How to Spot Them

Recurring fees are easy to spot so long as you really pay attention to your credit card bill. Making sure none of the year-long fees you signed up for have increased is a good first step. An example of this could be a streaming service such as Hulu. Originally, upon signing up, Hulu Plus is $7.99 a month for a single streaming device such as a laptop or a gaming console. If you decide you want to change this and expand your Hulu Plus account, you may do so. However, there is an upgrade fee that increases your monthly payment. After that, you can upgrade Hulu for specific streaming services such as HBO or Showtime. When upgrading this streaming service further, your monthly payments will also increase.

Another example of a recurring charge could be having a subscription to the local newspaper. Unfortunately, sometimes we cannot afford to be looking at the newspaper as much as we would like due to work, classes, meetings, everyday social activities and more. This leads to paying a recurring fee for something you may not use as much as you had originally hoped. While it would be in your best interest to make use of your recurring charges, sometimes, weighing if you will actually have the time or capability to make use of said charge is in your best interest.

How to Get Rid Of Them

As stated above, making sure you monitor your credit card bill frequently is the best way to rid yourself of any recurring charges. If you see on your last statement a charge you would not have originally liked or wanted, you should evaluate whether you should keep it or not. Big or small, nobody wants a recurring charge if it isn’t useful. Simply call the company that owns the product, say you want to cancel, and the company will take care of it. You could alternatively look online for the product and see if there were any links to cancel your subscription to the product. Either way, canceling a subscription is a fairly simple thing to do so long as you have the right to cancel in your contract.

How to Make Sure You Cancel Properly

In the days of modern technology, it is easier than ever to get confirmation on whether or not you have canceled something, ordered something, or just want more information. Whether it be through a receipt in person, sent to your email, or a hand-written note, it is imperative that you receive some sort of confirmation when you go through with this action. Without a confirmation, there is a likely chance that you will continue to receive ongoing charges to your account.

The Bright Spot

That being said, there is a bright side to having recurring credit card charges. If you frequently use Amazon for all your shopping, paying the annual Amazon charges on your card would actually be beneficial for cardholders ($12.99 monthly charge for adults, $6.49 for students). This is because making timely payments each month increases your credit card usage as well as your credit score. When considering this, it is also important to choose the right credit card for the right recurring fees. If you have a credit card that gives cash back or some kind of discount for an annual fee service, it may be in your best interest to use that card as opposed to another card without incentives.

It is also important to note that having recurring charges on multiple credit cards can be a good thing. If you’re a college student, this may not apply to you as much because you may not have cash on tap for any recurring charges. However, if you have a steady job and are diligent with your spending on a budget, having a low monthly charge to each of your credit cards isn’t going to be the worst idea. You will be using your card enough to justify a bump in your credit score, and you’ll be able to use some of the benefits of your specific credit card if you adjust your spending properly.

How to Avoid These Charges in the Future

Make sure you read the fine print of seemingly “free” products or services before giving away your credit card information. Of course, if a “free” product requires you to give your credit card information, it most likely will not be free for long. Making sure you read the terms and conditions, looking out for reactivation or penalty fees, and overall being diligent about your giving away your credit card information are great ways to minimize unwanted fees.

Smartphone apps are also helpful for keeping  track of your spending habits. Two of the most downloaded apps on iPhones today are Trim and Clarity Money. Both of these apps are designed to help monitor your recurring charges. They each scan a cardholders transaction history to detect recurring charges. Trim will even cancel subscriptions for you or negotiate lower rates for certain services.

Setting up transaction alerts is another great way to monitor your credit cards. While checking your statements once a month is great, you can set up alerts to notify you each time a new transaction posts to your account or a new transaction is over a certain dollar amount.

Finally, you can always rely on your credit card. While taking your own precautions are advised, credit card companies are also there for your spending. They wouldn’t want you spending money on things you don’t want to be spending money on, and they are there for you. Try talking to a bank representative and see what they can do for you and your spending.