The Best Way to Request an Interest Rate Decrease on a Credit Card

The best way to decrease your interest rate is to simply ask.

The credit card industry is a competitive business and customer service and loyalty is a fundamental element of a company's success. Therefore, many companies are responsive to requests for lower interest rates in an attempt to keep customers satisfied. The best way to take advantage of this situation is to call the credit card company and request an interest rate decrease.

Things You'll Need

• Credit card
• Phone

Instructions

1. Gather together the most recent credit card statement and check the current interest rate. Determine the desired interest rate with a ballpark figure or by comparing the current rate to recent offers received from other companies.

2. Call the customer service phone number for the credit card company, which is generally located on the back of the credit card. Use the automated service options to direct the call to an operator or customer service representative.

3. Ask the representative to consider lowering the interest rate on your card. One way to phrase that might be, "how can you help me out?" Remain polite throughout the conversation since you are asking the company to provide a service they are not required to grant to each customer.

4. Mention to the customer service representative that you are accurate and timely with payments, which may influence the company to lower your rate.

5. If the company will not lower the interest rate, politely ask them to indicate why the interest rate decrease was denied. Furthermore, ask the representative what you will need to do over the course of the next few months to qualify for a lower interest rate.

6. Make monthly payments in an accurate and timely manner. This will help avoid interest rate increases and provide evidence to the credit card company that you are a qualified candidate for a lower interest rate.

7. Call the company back several months later to make the same request, even if you were granted an interest rate decrease during your first attempt. If you have continued to show on time and accurate payments, you may qualify for an even lower rate.

Tips & Warnings

• Be persistent in your phone calls to the credit card company; the worst they can do is deny your request. However, a lower interest rate can save a substantial amount of money so it is worth the time and effort to attempt to decrease the rate.

References

• Bankrate: Want a lower credit card rate? Just ask
• Credit Cards: Cut that high credit card interest rate down to size
• The Simple Dollar: A Step-by-Step Guide to Getting Your Credit Card Interest Rates Reduced