Money tip

? If you’ve ever made a late payment on a credit card, utility bill or car payment, it’s not just the late fee you have to worry about. You risk getting stuck with a higher – if not exorbitant – interest rate on all your other credit cards.

Known as universal default, this common credit-card practice enables a bank to increase a consumer’s interest rate if he or she makes late payments on any bills. And the rate jump can be staggering: Most default interest rates hover around 30 percent.

Capital One is a popular card issuer that does not use universal default. Citi announced that it was ending its universal default policies on all Citi-branded credit cards. But other major lenders are still using universal default in full force.

Joe Ridout, a spokesman for Consumer Action, suggests checking your cardholder agreement. “Look at the section where it discusses default pricing. If it says that it may use default pricing based on information in your credit report, that’s a flag for universal default.”