I Accidentally Overpaid My Credit Card

If you overpay your credit card by mistake, you have a number of options to make things right. You can contact the credit card company and ask them to hold your money. You can continue to make new charges until the amount of the overpayment is exhausted. Or you can request a refund check for the amount you overpaid.

As soon as you realize you have overpaid your credit card, contact the bank and ask for assistance. If the payment has not yet posted, you may be able to have the bank hold that pending payment until you can write and send a check for the proper amount. Use caution, however, because if your new check does not arrive in time you could end up paying interest and penalties.

If you do have an overpayment on your card, you can apply any future charges you make toward that amount. You can keep track of your dwindling credit balance as you make new charges, either by checking your balance over the telephone or logging on to your account online and reviewing the charges.

If you prefer, you can contact your credit card company and request a check for the credit balance. In some cases, the credit card company will automatically send you a refund check if you have a credit balance for more than a month or two. If you do not receive a check automatically, you can call the toll-free number on the back of your card and request that they issue one, less any additional charges you have made in the interim.

If you overpay your credit card and end up with a credit balance, you might want to use that card exclusively until you reduce and eventually eliminate that credit balance. When you overpay your credit card, you are essentially paying it in advance. Using only that card lets you use the overpayment amount without additional spending.