"While late fees (for many debts) are not reported to the credit bureaus, the late payments certainly are. That loads your credit report with delinquencies and can trigger a rate increase on your other cards for all future purchases," says John Ulzheimer, president of Consumer Education at SmartCredit.com. Say you have one of those zero percent interest credit cards. Many have a clause that says one late payment will have the account default to an interest rate as high as 35 percent.
Another caveat: "Credit card issuers can revoke your air miles, rebates and rewards for late payments. You may be able to reinstate them, but you'll be charged a reinstatement fee," says Frank.
Dave Ramsey, personal finance expert and radio talk show host, says, "When you pay your bills late and incur that extra charge, you're simply paying more and more every month. You're putting yourself deeper into debt and making it harder to pay in full on time next month."