Lower your credit card costs
Sometimes it's as easy as asking for a lower rate
By Dawn Jones
MID MICHIGAN (WJRT) - (05/14/07)--Everybody is looking for ways to save more money these days. One way to keep more cash in your pocket is by reducing the interest rate on your plastic.
In most cases all it takes is a phone call, a little patience and some carefully chosen words.
It's become the American way: see something you want and instead of paying cash, charge it to your credit card.
"People get excited because this appears to help their cash flow situation," said credit counselor Lisa Banks.
But as Banks describes, it's a short-lived fix.
"If you are only making a 2 percent minimum monthly payment on a $7,000 balance, and let's just say you even got a 10 percent interest rate on it, it would take you in excess of 17 years to pay that balance off," she said.
If you want to pay the balance off sooner, one way is having the interest rate on your credit card reduced. We found it is negotiable and all it takes is a phone call.
We came up with a script and headed to a local mall. Kelly Wendling, Lesa Betts and Kendra Blocker all agreed to call their credit card companies using the script we provided.
"Well, I have been a good customer and I recently received several offers in the mail," Betts said.
"I really want to lower the rate on my card," Wendling said. "Is there any way you guys could help me with that?"
Minutes later, all three had their answer.
"They lowered it from 13.9 to 9.9," Wendling said. "That was pretty cool. I never would have thought to do that. I didn't think they would do something like that."
The average American family caries an average of $8,400 in credit card debt. If you are charged 13 percent interest on the balance, you will pay roughly $92 a month in finance charges.
If you drop your interest rate just 1 percentage point to 12 percent, your monthly finance charge goes down to $85, saving you $7 a month or $84 a year.
Our credit counselor says our script works, but it's not for everyone.
"You have to give this to a good customer, because if it is delinquent or frequently late, then the credit card company is not going to try to make them a good offer to lower their interest rate," Banks said.
The best way to avoid paying interest on your credit card purchases is to pay the balance off in full every month.
| Hi my name is __________. I have been a good customer, but recently I have received several offers in the mail for other cards with lower annual percentage rates. I really want a lower rate on my card can you help me ? If the answer is no, ask to speak to a supervisor. If the answer is still no, ask for another supervisor. Also - don't be shy about letting them know that you will consider closing the account unless they can lower the rate. |
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