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Bankrate has partnerships with issuers including, but not limited to, American Express, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citi and Discover. SHARE: Drazen Zigic/Shutterstock.com August 25, 2020 Holly Johnson writes expert content on personal finance, credit cards, loyalty and insurance topics. In addition to writing for Bankrate and CreditCards.com, Johnson does ongoing work for clients that include CNN, Forbes Advisor, LendingTree, Time Magazine and more. Bankrate logo The Bankrate promise
At Bankrate we strive to help you make smarter financial decisions. While we adhere to strict editorial integrity, this post may contain references to products from our partners. Here's an explanation for how we make money. The content on this page is accurate as of the posting date; however, some of the offers mentioned may have expired. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer. Bankrate logo The Bankrate promise
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You have money questions. Bankrate has answers. Our experts have been helping you master your money for over four decades. We continually strive to provide consumers with the expert advice and tools needed to succeed throughout life’s financial journey. Bankrate follows a strict , so you can trust that our content is honest and accurate. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions. The content created by our editorial staff is objective, factual, and not influenced by our advertisers. We’re transparent about how we are able to bring quality content, competitive rates, and useful tools to you by explaining how we make money. Bankrate.com is an independent, advertising-supported publisher and comparison service. We are compensated in exchange for placement of sponsored products and, services, or by you clicking on certain links posted on our site. Therefore, this compensation may impact how, where and in what order products appear within listing categories. Other factors, such as our own proprietary website rules and whether a product is offered in your area or at your self-selected credit score range can also impact how and where products appear on this site. While we strive to provide a wide range offers, Bankrate does not include information about every financial or credit product or service. The economic impact of the pandemic cannot be overstated, yet some positive news regarding credit card delinquency rates could be cause for celebration. A showed that, from January 2020 to June 2020, the average instances of consumer credit card delinquency decreased by 3.9 percent. Interestingly, when it comes to all types of credit, some states seem to be making more progress in decreasing delinquency rates than others. As the Experian data shows, Pennsylvania saw a decrease of 11.7 percent in 30-day delinquencies, while California saw a drop of 8.2 percent and Florida saw a decrease of 10.9 percent. New York, on the other hand, only saw 30-day delinquency rates drop by 1.8 percent over the same six-month period. Either way, any drop can be seen as a miracle of sorts. This is all at a time of record unemployment and massive pay cuts in many industries, which could leave you wondering where the improvement stems from. However, Experian points out that some of the positive movement is likely due to lender accommodations provided through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. “With more consumers in forbearance, or with payments deferred through some accommodation, the decline in new delinquencies is understandable, as repayment for many loans has been paused,” they write. Can t pay a credit card bill Consider these tips
If you may be unable to keep up with your credit card bills due to financial hardship or any other reason, there are some steps you can take now to lessen the impact. Before you default on your credit card payments and other bills, consider these tips: Check your credit card issuer s COVID-19 assistance page
Most credit card issuers have resource pages with information on assistance programs. This includes , , and others, so make sure to check with your provider to find out if any forbearance options are available to you. Call your credit card issuer
Call your credit issuer to see if it can move your due date or provide other assistance that can help you stay on track. Scrape together the cash to make a minimum payment
If you can scrape together enough cash to make only the minimum payments on your debts, you can avoid damage to your credit score and buy some time to get your finances back on track. Consider debt consolidation
If your debts are at high rates but your credit score is in good shape for now, then you may want to look into better borrowing options. Consider whether you could benefit from consolidating high interest debt with a or a SHARE: Holly Johnson writes expert content on personal finance, credit cards, loyalty and insurance topics. In addition to writing for Bankrate and CreditCards.com, Johnson does ongoing work for clients that include CNN, Forbes Advisor, LendingTree, Time Magazine and more. Related Articles