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Reduce Interest Rate

[09:16:46 AM Thursday, June 07, 2007]

Apply for a credit card online and reduce the interest rate too

One of the most poignant things about most of the credit card consumers out there is that to the last person each and every single one of them hates the fact that they pay so much interest on their credit cards nowadays.

Considering that the average credit card interest rate is somewhere around the 15% range and it is very rare that you find a credit card with an interest rate less than 10% and it becomes very easy to see exactly why most people hate those interest rates. On the flip side, it becomes really easy to see why credit card companies make so much money.

If you were an investor and could guarantee yourself a 15% annual return on your investments each year regardless of how much money you invested once again life would be very good for you in a financial sense.

Whether you apply for a credit card online or get good credit cards through a direct meeting with a representative you are going to be subjected to an interest rate of some kind; it is an inescapable fact.

Unfortunately, the higher interest rates come with the territory. When you sign up for a credit card you are in effect taking out an unsecured loan. You are not required to put any collateral up for your credit card debt and because of this the company has no way to protect itself in the event that you default on the loan that you are being given through your usage of the credit card you have in your wallet.

Because higher risk should only be taken from a financial point of view for higher reward the credit card companies up the stakes with a higher interest rate. Even good credit cards have interest rates above 10% most of the time and bad credit cards might have interest rates over 20%.

You might not agree with this philosophy but from a financial point of view it is definitely one that makes sense. All the same, there are definitely ways for you to go about lowering your interest rate (or at least attempting to do so) and this article aims to cover some of those methods.

Credit weapons in your arsenal

When you are dealing with credit card companies you have to realize that trying to get them to lower your interest rate is perhaps one of the most difficult things that you can do. The interest rate is quite literally what makes the credit card company the lion’s share of the money so if you want that rate to be lowered you are going to need to make a very good case of doing so.

The first weapon you have in your arsenal to accomplish this is your ability to communicate. When you communicate with a company in a very civil manner then it is quite possible that you are going to be able to get your point across very well and that in turn has a larger chance of doing something positive for you than anything else you might be thinking of. In addition to the ability to communicate having good credit also helps a lot.

A bad credit history is an immediate turn off for most companies and trying to get your interest rate lowered with a bad credit history is quite often going to be an uphill battle. In any case it is always worth a shot and here is a two step plan that you can follow in order to attempt it.

The two step credit plan

The two step plan as it applies to the specific purpose of getting the interest rates on your good credit cards reduced is as follows:

Step #1: Simply come out and ask them directly. You might be surprised as the results of asking your credit card directly to lower your interest rates. Many people don’t realize that credit card companies will lower the interest rates of longtime customers in order to keep them happy; take advantage of this fact.

Step #2: Do some comparison shopping and maybe even fill out a couple of credit card applications online for better cards. Then call your credit card company and tell them to match these offers or else you walk. Even if they refuse to do it you will have signed up for a better credit card and in the end the result you wanted is still achieved; a lower interest rate.

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brenda
I transfered a balance to a credit card some time back. The terms were 2.99% fixed for the life of the balance. The company has recently raised the interest rate to 12.99%v. Is this legal? Doesn't this violate some sort of truth in lending law? When I asked about the rate change They blamed it on the ecomomy. I thought the prime rate dropped due to the poor economy, thus allowing banks and credit card companies to recoup some money w/o raising rates. Is this legal and what should I do?
Answer:Unfortunately, your card issuer probably raised your credit card APR legally. Basically, if it is stated in the fine print of your card’s terms and conditions that the issuer reserves the right to change their terms and rates “any time for any reason”, then they can legally do so. The good news is that lawmakers are attempting to restrict these predatory lending practices by introducing new legislation that will prohibit card issuers from raising interest on existing balances or that will set caps on interest rate hikes. However, as long as the new bills are still under debate and are not yet the law, you can still take some steps to avoid paying these elevated interest rates.
First, if you have good credit and are a valuable customer for your card issuer, then you can ask them to lower your rate back to where it was. Then, if your card issuer refuses to reduce your rate, you can threaten to make a balance transfer to a more attractive card offer and close the account. If your threat still doesn’t result in a reduced rate, then just do the following: pay off the card if you can (since most lenders will allow you to pay off your card at the previous, lower rate, if you intend to cancel the card thereafter) and close the account. Then search online to see what other credit card offers are currently available which meet your needs, and apply for the best one you find. If you cannot pay off your current card, and you still have a balance outstanding that you do not want to pay the higher 12.99% APR on, then consider applying for a new card with a low APR on balance transfers.

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