5 Sneaky Fees Hiding in Your Bills — and How To Avoid Paying Them
Written by
Dawn Allcot
Edited by
Jenna Klaverweiden
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Have you ever opened a bill, processed a transaction online or reached a cash register only to find you owe more money than you expected? You may have been a victim of hidden fees, or charges added to your bill to help a business cover costs or boost profits.
You may not be able to avoid every added fee, such as service charges from your electric company. But by looking over your bills carefully and reading the fine print before checking out online or in an app, you can avoid certain fees to save hundreds of dollars.
Credit Card Processing Fees
Businesses pay a fee to payment processors for the ability to accept credit card payments. Some companies, especially small businesses and restaurants, pass these charges to the customer. In general, merchants can collect only up to 3% in surcharges from customers across most of the U.S., according to LawPay.
Before you pay, look around for signs near the cash register or ask if you can save money by paying cash. Sometimes, you can circumvent credit card processing charges by using your debit card and entering your PIN rather than signing for the purchase.
Cash Advance Fees
In a pinch, you can borrow cash using your credit card. This is called a cash advance. However, be prepared to pay for this privilege.
Credit card companies typically charge a fee of 3% to 5% of the total amount borrowed for a cash advance, according to Experian. You might also pay a higher interest rate for a cash advance than you would for a regular credit card purchase.
If you need cash fast, look into other options, like holding a garage sale or selling items you don’t need on Facebook Marketplace.
Food Delivery Fees
It’s a modern convenience to have food from your favorite local restaurant or fast-food chain delivered directly to your door. But you might be paying more than you’d imagine for the luxury.
Here are just some of the fees listed on the DoorDash and Uber Eats websites.
- Delivery fee
- Service fee
- Local operating or regulatory response fee
- Small order fee
There’s no way to avoid most of these fees if you use these food delivery services. But you can reduce service fees and eliminate the delivery fee on most DoorDash orders by subscribing to DashPass. Some credit cards, including Chase Freedom, offer DashPass as a perk. You can also try DashPass free for 30 days.
Likewise, you can get free delivery from Uber Eats at participating restaurants and grocery stores as an Uber One member, for $9.99 a month or $96 for the year, according to the Uber Eats website.
Buy Now, Pay Later Fees
Buy now, pay later (BNPL) services, like Klarna, Afterpay and Affirm, provide an alternative to credit cards for people to pay for purchases over time. But some of these services come with hidden fees or high interest charges. Plus, if you miss a payment, you’ll pay a late fee, just as you would with a credit card.
While BNPL can help you manage cash flow, it’s also easy to overextend yourself. To avoid hidden charges or high interest rates, read the fine print carefully before finalizing the transaction. Set up autopay to avoid late fees.
Event Ticket Fees
Ticketmaster uses all-in pricing to adhere to laws in various states. That means the company displays the full cost of event tickets upfront, including any service, order processing or convenience fees, along with facility charges and applicable taxes.
This makes it easier to compare ticket prices, but it obscures how much you’re actually paying in fees until you begin to check out. Fees can average 28% per ticket, according to Next Gen Personal Finance.
While Ticketmaster is arguably the most well-known source for event tickets, other websites that sell tickets to plays, concerts and sporting events also add service charges and fees. To avoid fees, you may be able to purchase tickets for events at the box office or the event venue.
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