Lower Credit Card Interest Rates

 

Credit card interest is the way credit cards make money. The card issuer is a bank that gives the card holder an assigned account number. That number is used with a variety of payees to make payments and borrow the funds from the issuing bank to pay for an item charged to the credit card. The bank pays the payee when a charge is made against the account then charges the account holder interest for the time the money is borrowed. The bank will lose money when the borrower or the credit card holder does not pay back the money borrowed.
There are ways to lower credit card interest rates, and they are not very hard to do. A credit card consumer group conducted a study to find out how easy it is to get lower credit card interest rates. 57 precent of those who called their credit card company and requested a lower interest rate got a lower rate immediately. The rate received was anywhere from 7 to 10 precent lower than the existing rated.
Credit card companies will lower a customer’s interest rate if they meet one of several criteria. If the customer has a good credit card rating, no late payments and does not exceed the spending limit the customer has a good chance of receiving a lower credit card interest rate. If the credit card customer does not have a high debt to income ratio and does not carry a large balance, a lower credit card interest rate is almost a certainly. When a balance exists on the account, a lower credit card interest rate might be awarded if the account holder pays more than the minimum due on a consistent basis. A good payment history will almost always get a credit card a lower credit card interest rate as will a credit card that is not a “subprime” card.
Before asking for a lower credit card interest rate, be sure the account is in good standing and the account holder meets at least one of the qualifiers. Spend some time and research other credit cards and the interest rates offered. When asking your company for a lower rate, ask for a rate at least comparable to the lowest of the low. If the credit card holder is very daring and has a credit score that exceeds excellent, ask for a rate lower than the lowest. Quote rates of other credit cards the applicant qualifies for and do not hesitate to let the credit card company know the applicant will move on to another credit card with a much lower rate.
A phone call is preferable than a letter. A letter can be ignored and unacknowledged, where a phone call is personal, and unless the credit card service representative is heartless, it is not easy to just hang up a customer. It might take some persistence to get a lower credit card rate but it will be worth it in the long run as money will be saved on the interest rate charges.