• Pay your credit card bill with cash, or use another credit card.credit card and dollars image by Pavel Bernshtam from Fotolia.com
  
  After your monthly credit card statement arrives, you have a choice to make. Depending on convenience, timing and available technology, banks accept various types of payment for their credit card products. This range of options make it easy for customers to keep their revolving accounts on time and open for use. Remember: when deciding on a particular method of payment, think about fees, speed and reliability first.
  
  

Automatic Payment

• Many banks now allow automatic bill payment for credit accounts. With this hands-off method, the user gives their checking or savings account information to the credit card company. About a week before the bill is due, the bank makes a request to the customer's bank for the total payment amount. The process is convenient and free for most, and ensures that a bill won't be late. However, automatic payments can be a blessing and a curse for the forgetful bill payer, since they'll incur an insufficient funds fee plus a late credit card payment fee if they forget to fund the payment account in the first place.
  
  

By Mail

• A mailed payment is the traditional method of credit card payment. The customer mails a check or money order to the bank in the amount of the payment, which posts upon receipt. Once the favored method of bill pay, mailed payments present a unique problem. If the payment gets lost in transit, or a mail sorting machine gnaws the envelope into oblivion, the sender won't know until the late payment shows on the next statement. Mailed payments come in handy when paying a settlement amount on a defaulted account, especially if the user purchases certified mail handling.
  
  

Another Credit Card

• One way to pay for plastic is to use plastic. Whether it's by mail, phone or at a point-of-sale retail station, credit or debit works fine for payment. A credit card is especially useful for balance transfers. To make a balance transfer, the customer transfers a credit card balance onto another card, effectively paying their credit card balance with another credit card. Although this method sometimes carries a fee, a credit card user can sometimes nab substantial savings in interest.
  
  

Debit Card

• A debit card is also a useful and fast way to pay a credit card bill. The credit card company takes the number over the phone, through the mail, or processes it in person. The money immediately comes out of the customer's account. Depending on the account and lending bank, a debit card payment may also give rewards points for each dollar spent. Used wisely, a credit card payment can then pay the customer.
  
  

By Phone

• A phone payment works best if time is of the essence. The payment posts immediately and saves the consumer from late fees at the last minute. The one drawback is that a phone payment sometimes costs extra, between $5 and $10 per transaction. Some banks allow free automated phone payments, but charge for customer-service assisted payments only.
  
  

Cash at Store

• Especially useful for a department store charge card, a cash payment is a convenient method of payment that usually posts within a few days. The retail clerk pulls up the account information through the store's system, takes the money as a retail transaction and offers a receipt to the customer as verification. It's a good method of payment for customers who like more personal service, or are reluctant to send sensitive financial information through the mail or over the Internet.