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US Credit Card Fees Explained: Annual, Foreign Transaction, Cash Advance and Late Fees

By PointsExplainedLast reviewed

Read the pricing table

Before applying, find the annual fee, the fee for purchases (foreign transaction fee), the cash advance fee, the late fee and the balance transfer fee in the card's disclosure table.

Automate the minimum payment

A late fee is triggered by missing the minimum. An automatic minimum payment, topped up manually, removes that risk.

Leave over-limit coverage off

Under Regulation Z, an issuer can't charge an over-limit fee unless you have opted in.

Match the card to the job

Use a card without a foreign transaction fee for travel and overseas merchants, and avoid credit card cash advances.

Where this comes from

Sources

The documents this guide relies on. If one has changed since we read it, the document is right and this guide is out of date.

  1. Regulation Z, 12 CFR 1026.60 - Credit and charge card applications and solicitations (CFPB)

    Application and solicitation table must disclose APRs, annual or periodic fees, transaction charges for purchases, cash advance fee, late payment fee and balance transfer fee.

    consumerfinance.gov · Accessed
  2. CFPB - Credit Card Agreement Database

    Issuers generally required to post agreements online; CFPB Credit Card Agreement Database.

    consumerfinance.gov · Accessed
  3. Regulation Z, 12 CFR 1026.52 - Limitations on fees (CFPB)

    First-year fee cap of 25 percent of initial credit limit and its exclusions; penalty fees either cost-justified (reasonable proportion of total costs) or within safe harbor amounts adjusted annually for CPI; higher amount for repeat violation in the same or next six billing cycles; penalty fee can't exceed the dollar amount associated with the violation; one penalty fee per event; no penalty fees for declined transactions, inactivity or account closure.

    consumerfinance.gov · Accessed
  4. Official interpretation of Regulation Z 1026.52 - Limitations on fees (CFPB)

    Dollar amount associated with a late payment is the required minimum periodic payment due immediately prior to the late fee.

    consumerfinance.gov · Accessed
  5. Official interpretation of Regulation Z 1026.60, comment 60(b)(4)-2 (CFPB)

    Purchase transaction charges include fees for purchases in a foreign currency, outside the US or with a foreign merchant.

    consumerfinance.gov · Accessed
  6. Official interpretation of Regulation Z 1026.4, comment 4(a)-4 (CFPB)

    Foreign transaction fee can include network and issuer charges; example of 1 percent network plus 2 percent issuer for 3 percentage points.

    consumerfinance.gov · Accessed
  7. CFPB - Can I withdraw money from my credit card at an ATM?

    Cash advance is a short-term loan; flat or percentage fees; ATM fees; higher interest rate; interest starts immediately with no grace period.

    consumerfinance.gov · Accessed
  8. CFPB - What do I need to know about consolidating my credit card debt?

    Balance transfer fee usually a percentage or a fixed amount, whichever is more.

    consumerfinance.gov · Accessed
  9. CFPB - Credit card penalty fees (compliance resources)

    The Credit Card Penalty Fees Final Rule was vacated by court order on April 15, 2025.

    consumerfinance.gov · Accessed
  10. CFPB - Credit Card Penalty Fees Final Rule

    The 2024 final rule set an $8 late fee safe harbor for issuers that, with their affiliates, have one million or more open credit card accounts.

    consumerfinance.gov · Accessed
  11. Regulation Z, 12 CFR 1026.56 - Requirements for over-the-limit transactions (CFPB)

    Over-the-limit fees require opt-in; at most one per billing cycle; limit of three billing cycles for the same over-limit transaction.

    consumerfinance.gov · Accessed
Questions

About this guide

Can my card company charge me for not using my card?

Not as a penalty fee. Regulation Z bars penalty fees for account inactivity, as well as for declined transactions and for closing or terminating an account.

How much can a late fee be?

Regulation Z lets an issuer charge either an amount it has determined reflects a reasonable proportion of its costs or no more than the safe harbor amount, which the CFPB adjusts annually for inflation. Either way, a late fee can't exceed the minimum payment that was due. Your card's actual late fee is in its pricing table.

Is the $8 late fee cap in effect?

No. The CFPB states that its 2024 credit card penalty fees rule, which set an $8 late fee safe harbor for issuers with one million or more open card accounts (with affiliates), was vacated by court order on April 15, 2025.
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