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Steps to Lower Credit Card Interest Rates
People are often troubled by the high credit card interest rates, even if they have been customers of the same credit card company/bank for the past many years. But what most customers fail to realize is that there are ways to bring down the credit card interest rates and that even sans switching to another card. Here are few simple steps to achieve your goal.
First of all, find out the current interest rate on your credit card plan. If you are not able to precisely dig it out from your monthly statement, call the customer care people and get the information.
Scour the internet for better credit card deals. Make a list of top credit cards offering better deals that yours, and compare their features. Also, it would be advisable to call up competing credit cards and ask their agents how much they charge in terms of interest rates for each type of card. Now compare the details you’ve obtained offline and online and short list the ones that offer better deals.
Now take the phone and give a call to your credit card company, and make a request to talk to the manager or someone concerned for first level grievance redressal. While talking, use the data you’ve collected to negotiate for a lower and better interest rate than you have now. If they refuse, escalate your request to the person’s immediate superior. The bottom line is to never ever back down on your demand, unless they offer you something better than what you have at present. It would be also advisable to negotiate the late fee charges as well, if you think the current one is a bit too high.
Once you’d negotiated your way through, set up an automatic payment facility with the bank to pay off your future balances before the actual due dates. That’ll free you from your late fees woes forever.
Finally, make it a habit to pay off debts on time. Always pay more than the minimum amount required, so that the due amount will get paid off quickly without incurring much interest.
On the other hand, if negotiation does not work, don’t think twice to switch sides to one that offers as sweeter deal. There are no laws that require you to stick with one company or another. Use other companies rates to bargin with your current rate. They often will match to keep you as a customer.
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