You might not have a negative credit card balance very often. But if you do have one, it could have happened for a variety of reasons.
Here are a few reasons why you could have a negative balance:
Overpaying your credit card bill
If you’re chipping away at your credit card balance with multiple payments, you might accidentally pay your credit card company more than you mean to. You might even accidentally add an extra digit or hit the wrong button when making a payment. And if you pay more than your current balance, you’ll end up with a negative balance.
Refunds for returned purchases
Getting a refund from a merchant is another way you might end up with a negative balance. If you pay off your balance before getting a refund or if the refund is more than your current balance, that refund would result in a negative balance.
Statement credits
If you have a rewards credit card, you might earn rewards in the form of a statement credit that’s applied to your balance. And that statement credit could result in a negative balance if it’s more than your current credit card balance.
Waived fees
If a credit card fee is charged to your account and waived, for whatever reason, it could possibly result in a negative balance.
Fraudulent & disputed charge reversals
If you’ve already paid down your balance and a fraudulent or disputed charge is credited to your account by your credit card company, it could lead to a negative balance.
