Credit card companies usually have and "honer but do not offer" policy. If you are a good customer then they may lower your rate..but ONLY if YOU ask! If you think you are a good customer (you may be a better customer than you think!) call your company right now and politely ask them for a lower rate. Here is something you can say for example: "I think i have been a good customer of yours for about X years and would like to know if it is possible to have a lower rate please." Now this is not a thread for nay sayers who don't even try it, so give it a shot (what do you have to lose anyways!) and let us know the response you get, and if it's a yes, tell us your old rate and your new rate. Good luck, have fun and i hope you guys save a ton!
Has no one tried this? a report on global news did this in a shopping mall and about 65 % of the people they had try it got their rates reduced, some by about 10%. A penny saved is a penny earned my friends...
I never tried this before but I have tried asking them to waive my anual fee, which they only grant if you threaten to close your account with them and do not have any outstanding balance.
hmm.. My bank just increased the duration of "no interest period" from 49 days to 90 days. I didn't have to call them for this.
Erm...Last few years I had a customers who had a very good mutual understanding with a bank in my country. She had a mortgage loan and credit cards with the bank with a very impressive of track record. When I help her to apply with the bank for the auto loans for her new car, she bargain a discount on the interest rate and guess what? The bank lower down the interest rate and she only serve the interest rate of 2% per annum while everybody serve the interest of 4% per annum... She has the power of negotiator and she even threaten the bank to move to another bank to apply the loan if the bank can't fulfill her needs.
yes it always work to call the bank (or any financing) especially by saying you'll be moving or doing blanace transfer if all else failed with the current one and thats how I get 0% interest for 3 years straight for CC and 0% down, 2% APR for my car loan
Whats the benefits of the credit card? I am currently 18 and just wondering what credit cards are lol?
Quite honestly do your best to stay away form them. You won't realize it now, but in 10 years it can amount to many thousands of dollars that would be in your pocket if you live with what you have and need, and not what you want out of luxery or impulse.
Asking them politely won't do it. Call them and tell them you want to cancel your credit card, when they ask why tell them you're switching to a competitor card that has a lower rate. My mastercard was 23%, and they offered to drop it to 15% if I kept the card lol. I got rid of it anyways since my bank gave me 8.5% on my visa But basically you have to make it sound like you have a better deal with another company and they will try to match the offer. Asking nicely might get you 1-2%, threating to leave will get you 5-10%
Yes, but you need to have a good payment history. I had that mastercard for about 2 years and never missed a payment, so my credit history with them was exceptional.
Thank you very much for this suggestion. I will try to call them and see if I can get a positive response.
I can say that this does work, the other day I bought a computer for my sister and I used my American Express to increase my credit score. The next month I payed it off completely and used the card again, I called them to politely lower my interest rate because I was going to making the payments in the next six months. Not only did they agree to lower it, but they sent me a $150 gift card the next month thanking me for being such a good customer. It works for sure dan
Sounds a good idea but don't know how many banks will agree to the request; but there is no harm in trying...
There is a double whammy to credit cards. But you need them. As you said, if you use them incorrectly, you're outta luck. But if you don't get one, you're outta luck. Having great credit in today's world is an absolute necessity. In 10 years, when you are trying to get a car loan, or a house, and you've never had a credit card before, you're looking at paying it in full up front. Virtually any type of loan is going to require some foundation of credit. The best way to prevent the whammys is to leave your card at home all times. Only take it out for small purchases. That should help some impulse buying. If you are 18 and have some sort of car, filling your car up with a CC can be great. But then you have to pay it off, in full when your bill comes around. Just doing something as small as this can really benefit down the road. But use it incorrectly, then you are looking at some deep trouble down the road.
Some of the factors that play into this is : 1.the company itself and it's regard for fair customer service. 2.your credit and how good it is, or rather how bad it is. you don't need a superb credit score. 3.the representative you speak to. If it does not work you should ask to speak to the manager. also, you might want to mention that you can transfer your balance to a lower rate card for another company. any company would prefer give you 5% - 10% off your card rather than losing you as a customer.
This also works for increasing your credit limit. I've only had one of mine for 2-months and just a few days ago, asked for a $3,000 increase and it was granted in a few hours.
Usually getting your credit limit increased is pretty easy, and it is also a good way of knowing if they would lower your APR. If your credit card company will allow you to have more on credit...then doesn't it make sense that they would also lower your APR as a thank you if you ask. But again some companies do not care what kind of debt they put people in...and these are the companies that are not deserving of your money anyhow.
The ease of getting a CL or even an interest rate decrease depends on what credit card company you are contacting and how your credit history is. Length of time with them isn't necessarily a factor. CapitalOne for instance, is a company that you would have to hassle with to receive such a benefit from no matter what.