I’ve used Bill-Me-Later a few times when making purchases over $250.00 on NewEgg.com, and I can say for certain that yes it works and no there isn’t any trickery involved.

The way I purchase items via Bill-Me-Later is most likely the same way you would. There are no payments required for the first 90 days, so I wait until the last possible moment and pay the balance in full before the first payment is due.

However it has been a guessing game trying to figure out exactly how soon in advance to send a payment.

Example: I bought a Garmin nuvi 250 for my sister which at the time was exactly $250 (shipping included). Even though I sent the payment one week before the due date and sent it electronically, I still got slammed with a $31 late fee and the $250 turned into $281.

Yep. Ouch.

Since then I’ve learned this: If you want to beat the clock on a Bill-Me-Later purchase, send it two weeks before the first payment is due. One week, as I found out the hard way, isn’t soon enough.

If sending by traditional mail-in paper check, send it three weeks in advance.