Asking for a Lower Credit Card Rate
Posted on November 4, 2007
Filed Under Advice, rates | Comments Off
Who are the best candidates to ask for a lower rate?
If you have a good payment history: have paid on-time, and stayed under your credit limit for 6-12 months.If your APR is over 12%. The average APR is around 14.9%.
If your card started out with a low rate, but your issuer has increased it several times.
If you have had the same card for several years.
Call the number on the back of your credit card or bill.
Follow This Script:
Hi, this is [Your Name]. I am a good customer, but I have received several offers in the mail from other credit card companies with lower APRs than what I’m paying with your company. I want a lower rate on my card, or I will cancel my card and switch companies. What can you do for me?
And that’s it. Even folks who dread confrontations ought to be able to handle that. You only need to be assertive for a matter of seconds.
Ask for a 10-point reduction. A lot of people aren’t going to get that, but it’s important to shoot high.