You should also resolve to close out credit card accounts you do not use. Having too many accounts or too many open lines of credit may impair your ability to qualify for the better rates. Furthermore too much available credit may also result in your current card issuer declaring you a high risk account and therefore subject to a much higher interest rate. As a rule of thumb you should not owe more than 20% of your gross income on credit cards and your total card credit lines should not exceed 50% of your gross income.
Finally, resolve to stay on top of payment due dates and resolve to monitor balances to avoid going over-limit. The price for making late credit card payments is going up. The actual late payment fee has been increasing steadily since 1990 and some issuers will now assess late fees if your payment shows up one day past the due date. And the real killer for making late payments is your interest rate could increase 2%-3%. It makes good sense to send your payment as soon as possible, interest accrues on the average daily balance.
