7 On Your Side

Want to lower your credit card interest rate? All you have to do is ask, survey finds

Saturday, May 6, 2023

Want to lower your credit card interest rate? Just ask, survey finds

A phone call to your credit card company has a good chance of getting you a lower rate and saving you money.

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- We tend to get ticked off when hit with high credit card fees and charges, but don't do anything about them.

Bad move, says Lending Tree's Matt Schulz. "People have more power over their credit card issuer than they realize, and oftentimes all they have to do is pick up the phone and ask for a break."

Schulz says if your interest rate is too high, ask for a reduction. "Our recent survey found that about 3 out of 4 people who asked for a lower interest rate on their credit card in the past year got one; problem is too few people ever ask," he says.

MORE: Federal Reserve raises interest rates 0.25%, intensifying inflation fight despite banking fears

Check out the statistics just found by Lending Tree:

76% asking for an interest rate reduction got one.

86% who asked for a higher credit limit got one, too.

93% who requested an annual fee waiver or reduction got a positive response.

MORE: Household debt hit record $16.9 trillion last quarter, as consumers loaded up their credit cards

And 81% who asked for a late fee waiver got one.

So what's the holdup? Consumers don't know about this, or dread talking with their credit card company.

7 On Your Side asked how to go about getting a better deal. Schulz says start by looking at what other companies are offering.

"So you can say, 'Hey, I've had this card for a long time, but my interest rate is 25%, and I've just seen this offer that I'm qualified for at 19%,'" Schulz says, "'Can you match it?'"

Take a look at more stories and videos by Michael Finney and 7 On Your Side.

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