Can you change your credit card APR? Yes, you can. First thing, get your information in order. Look at your credit score. Have you recently jumped from Fair to Good, or Good to Excellent? Terrific. Have you been paying your bills on time? Extra points. Have you been a customer for a long time. Great. Now, make the call. That's right.
You've got to call them.
Oh, you think that there's a box online that asks, "Do you want to reduce your Annual Percentage Rate?" No. That's not how banks work. Their job is to get as much money from you as possible.
For this call, it helps to write a script. For example: “Hi, my name is ________ and I’d like to lower my interest rate of __%. I’ve been a customer since ___ and always made my payments on time. My credit score is ____ which is considered [good/excellent] …”
And if they say, "No", or "We don't have any promotions at this time," or some other excuse, let it go. Say, thank you and goodbye. Then call back again a few days later and talk to another person. See if you can get someone else at the company to look at your history, your credit score, your records.
What is the average credit card interest rate based on credit score? WalletHub (January 2019) says Excellent credit scores averages about 14.45%. Good scores average 20.94% and Fair gets about 23.17%.
Be a smart consumer. Take care of yourself and your finances. Call that credit card company today.
For more information on financial services, contact Stevie Swain at Swain Consulting at 513.818.1753 ext. 4.
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