I’m wanting to call my credit card company to see if I can lower my credit card interest rate. Has anyone here ever done this and succeeded? Any tips on what to say and how to say it? How easy was it to do?
Thanks in advance,
Lorie
One- check your credit report and clear it up. Dispute everything bad. Repeat with everyhing bad and incorrect until they get it wrong.
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Call & ask.
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If 2 doesn’t work, then find another CC with a lower rate. Pay off old card.
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Then go back to #2, and try & cancel. I tried to cancel two cards, and they both offered me 0% interest for a year! Pluse free stuff!
'Tis a dangerous path to follow to accumulate credit card debt.
Open a line of credit or get a fixed rate loan. Of course getting 0% on a card is better than any loan you’ll get at a bank.
I’ve always been good about paying off my CC every month, and had used part of a line of credit to manage temporary overspending. Even with the CC paid off and just a mortgage and line of credit, it was very comforting to do a debt consolidation so that I have a single payment at a lower rate. I am paying more than the minimum because I now have only the single debt to pay off and can afford to direct the money to the principle.
[muses] I didn’t hijack this, but I didn’t answer the question either…[/muses]
Jeez. Hijack much?
Call them. Say “I’ve been getting a lot of offers for bank cards with lower interest rates, but I’d rather not switch if I don’t have to. Can you offer me a lower rate, or connect me to an officer with that authority?”
They’ll either say “yes” or “no.” If they say no, tell them “you do realize that I’ll close this account and transfer my balance to one of these competing cards, don’t you?”
They’ll probably give you a lower interest rate. If they don’t, transfer your balance to a better card (you have been getting offers, right? I get all kinds of offers).
Note: I’ve never asked for a lower rate. I have asked for a higher credit limit and gotten it, however. I charge big-ticket items and pay them off, as I dislike writing checks.
**I am not a Credit Expert. ***
Before you call them I would suggest you take some time to review your account. How often you use it, how much revolving credit you keep, do you always pay bills on time, etc…You will have a better understanding how valuable a customer you are to them. You can use that to your advantage. Then again if you are not the greatest customer it has a reverse affect (but you would know that by now with % increases).
As DrDerth mentions, get your entire credit report straightend out (if needed) before you ask for the reduction. You will have more leverage with no negative credit issues.
After you take care of the above call and ask for the reduction. Have a % that you are willing to accept. Use the “other offers” as leverage but I do not reccommend switching from CC to CC just to get the lower rate unless necessary. It does not look favorable on your credit report. Once or twice (over a few years) may be okay but I wouldn’t stretch it past that. Don’t forget that those offers in the mail are usually only for a short time and then the larger % kicks in.
If/When they offer you an acceptable rate make sure it is a FIXED RATE on all transaction. They may try and lure you (trick you) with a low sounding % but it is only for 6 months or only on transfers or new puchases. However you might not be able to get the low rate on cash advances (if available to you). Be realistic with what % you should get. If you are new to the credit game you will not have the leverage of someone with 15 years of credit history.
As long as you are a good customer they should lower your rate.
As cantara mentions, credit can be a dangerous burden. I have been CC debt free for one year and now only charge what I can pay off in full when the bill arrives. I even had my % lowered twice during the last year.
Use the SDMB search engine and you should find a ton of threads on credit cards and credit reports.
Good Luck.
Nametag has the right idea. A long time ago I had a higher fee bank card from a large bank. It just morphed into that after a series of mergers swallowed up my local bank. I had an excellent credit record but didn’t want to pay a silly newly imposed $25 annual fee and a higher interest rate. So I called up and simply asked them to eliminate the yearly fee and inquired how low can they go on the rate. They dropped the fee and lowered the rate by 3 points.
A year later I simply dropped the bankcard and went solely with the cards issued by my credit union. A much better deal. I recommend you find a credit union, join it and get your credit cards through them.
Thanks for the advice guys! I called up my company and it was easy! I asked for a lower rate, and they dropped it by eleven points. Shocked me.
I do that about every 6 months. They almost always lower the rate. If they don’t, I switch the balances (I have 2 cards) back and forth. Very easy and keeps the rates low.
I did the same thing and it worked for me too.
Not to hijack but I’ve been able to temporarily lower my cable bill the same way (usually for 3 months).