Is there anything I can say that will lower my cc interest rate?

I have a variable rate card, I know this means that basically they can do what they want. But my credit score is excellent, never had a late payment, never exceeded my limit, and I've been a customer in good standing for 5 years now and for alot of that time carried quite a balance so they've made money off of me. But it just got jacked up to 24% and I just can't deal with it anymore. DH and I are in the process of becoming "debt-free"....well revolving credit debt-free and are now only paying off the card, not using it for purchases. The only thing that goes on it monthly is our EZ-Pass statement. Our balance is now below the halfway point to our limit and we intend to have it paid off in the next couple of months.

Do I have any bargaining chips on my side to have them lower the interest rate so we can use it if we want to??? We have not looked into transfers yet....can I say we have, will that work, or can they tell we haven't? Or am I just going to be told my options are to suck it up or close the card? I know the smart answer is to not carry a balance. If we ever did use it again, this would obviously be the route we would go, use it and pay it off immediately, but god forbid something happened and we needed to depend on it, I just don't want to be spending a quarter of the purchase price on interest.

Re: Is there anything I can say that will lower my cc interest rate?

Well, now a days it may be harder to negotiate. I can tell you what worked in the past for me. I have called and asked them to reduce the rate. If they gave me some lame excuse I would say "well, x-cc is giving me a lower rate. So if you are not going to work with me, then I am going to transfer the balance and never use your card again because it's too expensive to hold a balance on your card". Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes it only works when you actually make good on your threat. I have gotten a card to significantly lower my rate by doing this, and I did not have to make good on the promise. However, not sure now if it would work since they are all being nutty w/ the credit crunch. I would look into a fixed rate card that you can transfer the balance to asap. I would also see if they can change this card to a fixed rate too. variable rates are great when the rate is low, but if they raise the rates you never pay them off. It's just better to get into a low fixed rate line.

ETA: If you never missed a payment, make sure you tell them this. Use it as your arguement as to why you deserve a low rate.

Good luck!

Message edited 1/27/2009 4:36:35 PM.

Re: Is there anything I can say that will lower my cc interest rate?

All you can do is try. Threaten to balance transfer or close the card, but don't be suprised if they don't care. Try to speak to a manager. Good luck!

Re: Is there anything I can say that will lower my cc interest rate?

I will definitely mention all my positives. I didn't think about asking for a low fixed rate card. I am not going to close the card (even if I mention I will) as I don't want to hurt my credit score but I would consider still using it if I knew the interest rate wasn't going to jump from month to month. I know this is the worst time to ask a cc for something during this credit crisis but you're right, it can't hurt to try I guess.