A few days ago I wrote about how I missed a credit card payment for the first time. In that post, linked here, I explained the series of events that resulted in my first missed credit card payment. However, from that experience I learned that I didn’t have payment reminder emails setup on my Citi Double Cash account. This was a surprise because I have these payment alerts setup on every other credit card account I have open today.
Typically, with payment alerts setup properly, the card issuer sends me a payment reminder email about 5 days before the payment due date. I find these emails incredibly helpful because I don’t always remember to pay my bills. Of course, I could use AutoPay, but I personally like looking through my statement to make sure everything looks right before I pay my bill. So, these payment reminders make sure that I don’t forget to pay a bill.
On most cards, these payment reminder emails are the default setting. This means that when you open a card account, the card issuer automatically enables these emails. However, there are some cards (the Citi Double Cash Card) where payment reminder emails aren’t automatically setup. For those cards you’ll need to setup payment reminder emails manually. So today, I wanted to show you how to setup payment reminder emails with various card issuers so you never miss a credit card payment again.
Setting Up Citi Credit Card Payment Alerts
Since this whole situation began with my Citi Double Cash card it’s only fitting that we start with Citi. The first thing I noticed when trying to setup Citi payment alerts is that Citi doesn’t make this process all that intuitive.
When you log into your Citi credit card account, you’ll see a few options along the top of your browser window. Those options include accounts, Payment & Transfers, Explore Products, Services, and Card Benefits. At first glance, you’d assume payment reminders would be in the “Payments” section, but you’d be wrong. You might also assume these payment reminders would be in the “Services” section, but again, you’d be wrong. Instead, Citi classifies payment reminder emails as a “Card Benefit.”
Specifically, Citi puts payment reminders in the “Credit & Account Protection” section of your card benefits.
You’ll then find “Account Alerts” toward the bottom of the “Credit & Account Protection” page.
As you can see, Citi doesn’t make finding “Account Alerts” all that easy. However, once you reach the payment alerts page, Citi does makes it easy enough to manage alerts for all of your card accounts. All you have to do is select an account from the drop down above the alert options to manage balance and payment alerts for each card.
From there, pick the settings that work best for you. As you can see, there are quite a few options available. Setting these reminders up properly should ensure you never miss a credit card payment again.
Chase Credit Card Payment Alerts
As with Citi credit card accounts, you can also setup payment reminders for your Chase credit card accounts so you don’t miss a credit card payment. Overall, Chase’s website is incredibly easy to navigate and setting up payment notifications is no exception.
To get started, you’ll need to login to your Chase card account and click on the “things you can do” dropdown along the right hand side of the account summary page.
The list of “things you can do” is quite long, but Chase makes it easy to find “Account Alerts” in the “Settings & Preferences” drop down menu. After clicking “account alerts,” you’ll reach the below page which clearly outlines the various card alerts you can enable. Additionally, once you reach this Account Alerts page, Chase also makes it very easy to change between card accounts to setup alerts for all of your cards.
Again, for my Chase cards I really only use the payment due date reminder alert. I have this alert setup for all of my card accounts. I personally only have the alert setup as an email to my primary email address, but you can also have Chase send you a push notification on your iPhone if you have Apple Pay setup. Hopefully by setting up these payment notifications through Chase you’ll never miss another credit card payment.
American Express Credit Card Payment Alerts
Along with Chase, American Express also makes setting up payment reminder emails incredibly easy. To get started, click on the “Accounts Services” page of your American Express account.
On the “Account Services” page you’ll find a few options, but clicking on the “Account Alerts” page will take your to your payment reminder alerts.
After clicking the account alerts link, a pop-up appears with limited, but effective account alerts.
On this page you’ll once again notice that I’ve setup payment reminders for 5 days before my payment due date. Again, I do this so I never miss a credit card payment when due on my Amex accounts. Once you click the options you want, click save and you’re all set. From now on, American Express will either email or text you a payment reminder 5 days (or whatever you pick) before your card payment due date.
Other Credit Card Issuers
For this post I’ve focused on Citi, Chase, and American Express because those are the cards I use most. However, most major credit card issuers offer account alerts to remind you of various account activities. I’d personally recommend setting these up on all of your card accounts to make sure you never miss a credit card payment again.
Now, if you can’t find what you’re looking for on your card issuers website, I’d recommend calling the issuer directly. You should be able to setup card alerts over the phone as well, but if not, a phone rep can guide you through the process online.
Final Thoughts
If you pay your credit cards manually each month, make sure to setup payment alerts to avoid missing credit card payments. The last thing you want is to miss a payment just because you forgot to log into your account.
Additionally, most of these payment alerts also include a link to your card’s payment page. This makes it incredibly easy to pay your bill directly from the link in just a few taps. Hopefully, after setting up all of your account alerts, you’ll never miss a credit card payment again and you’ll avoid paying any unnecessary late fees in the process.
