How to Get American Express to Lower My Bill
Credit cards are necessary tools for financial prosperity, but they can also be dangerous traps that, when mishandled, ruin a person's financial record and create a huge swamp of debt. Often, credit card companies can behave unethically and take advantage of customers by manipulating interest rates and levying excessive fees. There are federal laws in place that provide consumers with routes of action to combat these practices. Your American Express bill may be higher than it should be, and there are actions you can take to lower it.
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Instructions
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Call American Express and ask them to lower your interest rate. Explain that you have been consistently paying your bill and threaten to leave if they do not reduce it. If you have not been consistently paying due to financial difficulties, explain to them your situation and ask them for payment assistant options.
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Hold on to all correspondence sent to you from American Express. If any letters mention changes in interest rates, respond to them immediately via the methods indicated in the letter and refuse to accept the rate hike.
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Call American Express and make sure they do not charge a surcharge for paying over the phone or by mail as long as you pay on time. See if you qualify to have your annual fee waived. Call around the time your contract is to be renewed, and ask them what criteria, if any, you must meet to have the annual fee waived.
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Ensure that all payments are not being double-billed. Double-cycle billing occurs when credit card companies compute charges based on previous months' balances and not the most recent months.
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Tips & Warnings
These steps largely come from the provisions of the Credit Card Bill of Rights. These laws provide credit consumers a means to hold creditors to high ethical standards. American Express has met many of these requirements. You can find out more about these laws by looking at some of the listed resources.
Often calling and asking is very effective when you want your rates lowered. Credit card companies are very competitive and they are willing to negotiate with good, paying customers.
The criteria to have a fee waived can range from a minimum amount of charges per year to a simple threat to leave.
If you have not been consistently paying your credit card bills and are in default on many cards, you may want to look at debt settlement and debt negotiation strategies.
