I suspect Citibank, and maybe other card issuers too, would like its customers to pay late. Here is how it works, going by my own statement. The statement closed on January 24, yet the bill only reached me on February 3, a whole ten days afterward. The due date was February 13, with a recommended mailing time of 5 days. So the real window is just 5 days.
Anyone who must wait for a biweekly paycheck ends up late. A check not received by 10 am is counted as late, which costs one more day. February 13 also fell on a Sunday, when no mail is delivered, so yet another day disappears.
My advice is to carry just one or two cards and stay away from these carefully engineered corporate rip-offs.
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