Worth the Asking

I'm going to bet that many of you who read this will be thinking that it is not new news, but I'm also willing to bet that many of you who have heard about it, still aren't taking advantage of it. What are we talking about? Asking for a lower interest rate on those looming credit cards. Obviously debt being the topic of more conversations these days opposed to a couple years ago, but because of that we do need to take action. If you feel like you aren't getting anywhere with the bills (maybe because you're paying minimums, but maybe all you can do to stay afloat), fight back in all directions. If you sell something on Craig's List, put that cash, small as it might be, on a bill- beyond the minimum. If you get a tax return, put it onto debt instead of justifying the purchase of something else. AND call up those cards and ask what they can do. There are tips all over the Internet on how to do this, but I found success with trying this and keeping it simple.

First, I call up the card with the number on my statement. I ask to speak with someone about my APR and sometimes they transfer me to someone else. Then I just say that I've got lower percentages on other cards and I was wondering what they could do for me on this x% I have now. I may remind them how long I've been a customer and that I pay on time, but often they actually do that for me. Sometimes they say there are no programs right now and to call back in a month or so. So I do. But most of the time I've tried this, they are able to lower the % some. Be sure to ask about the % of where your balance is if there are different percentages for everything- such as past purchases, new purchases, balance transfers etc. It doesn't help much if they only lower the APR% on new purchases if you're not using the card and trying to pay it down.
If they sound unwilling to budge, ask to speak with their supervisor and try again on them.  If nothing else, try again in another month or so. 
Yes it make take a few minutes of your time, but just a few minutes can shave off lots of money you are handing over to your creditors.