How to Get a Lower Interest Rate on Your High Interest Credit Card

High interest rates on a credit card can prolong your payments and thus, cause you to pay far more interest than you should have to. High interest rate credit cards are a sign that your credit score is not good. Think about it; why would you get a high interest credit card if somebody offered you a lower interest card? Some people think that rewards points or other types of reward programs are worth the high interest rate. This is a bad way to think because even though you may get some type of reward, it will not offset the extra interest that you have paid on such a card.

Many people have a high interest card for two reasons: (1) they have had the card since they were 18 or since they were in college and thus, the interest rate is high because at that time, that person was just starting to establish his/her credit; or (2) they did not know any better and got a high interest rate card because they were not educated as to issues of credit. Both of these situations can be remedied and thus, should you have a high interest credit card, you can get a lower rate.

It is important to note that even though a high interest credit card can cost you a lot of money by way of interest, you should not close a credit account merely because the interest rate is high. Closing a credit account will negatively affect your credit score, but a high interest rate will not. Therefore, you should not close a credit account simply because the interest rate on such a card is high.

The easiest way to obtain a lower interest rate on a credit card is by having another credit offer available. These are not hard to obtain because it could be something that you get in the mail or it could be an application that you get from your bank. The point is, regardless of whether or not you actually intend to submit an application for that other card, you have to have an offer on the table. This offer is what you will use as leverage against you current credit card company.

Once you have this offer, you should call your current credit card company and ask for a lower interest rate. Sometimes, this is all you need to do. However, most of the time, a credit card company will not lower your interest rate. This is when you have to let them now that you have and offer from another credit card company, and it is offering you a better rate. Additionally, you need to tell your current company that if they cannot match this new offer, you will have no reason to use their services anymore. Usually, this will be enough for your credit card company to lower your interest rate. If, however, they are still reluctant in lowering your rate, stop using the credit card and apply for the card with the lower interest rate.

Call your company, request a lower rate, present the fact that you have a better offer, and, if all else fails, stop using the card and obtain a lower interest credit card.