How To Get the Best Rates on Your Current Credit
Cards
So you’ve got a few credit cards, and you’re
quite happy with them overall. Still, wouldn’t
it be nice to save a little money on interest?
It
all adds up over time, and more quickly than you’d
think. If you’re a good customer, you’d
be surprised how easy it is to get a better rate.
Pay on Time, But Not Everything.
The most desirable customers for the credit card
companies are the ones who make a payment on time
every month – but don’t pay off the
whole balance. After all, running no balance every
month means that you pay no interest, and the company
makes no profit. If you keep up the pattern of running
a relatively small balance each month, then the
companies will start falling over themselves to
offer you better interest rates.
Threaten to Go to Their Competitors.
Have you ever noticed that it seems like every
company offers a credit card? That makes the credit
card industry extremely competitive. Collect ads
and offers for better rates than your company has
given you, and then phone them up and tell them
all about it. A good rouse is to start the conversation
like this:
“Them: Hello, what can I
do for you today?
You:
Oh hi, I was just calling to ask if there’s
anything that you need to do to transfer my balance
to this new card I’m getting?
Them: Well… may I ask what
card that is?
You: Oh, I got the offer in the mail this morning.
[Tell them all about the great interest rate and
everything. You could even make things up –
they won’t know].
Them: And you’ve accepted
that offer?
You: I’m just about to, yes.
Them: Well, hang on… we might
be able to offer you a better rate on the card you’ve
got…”
The trick is in getting the company to think you’re
just another fool who responds blindly to advertising,
and they’re in danger of losing you as a customer.
Don’t whine about how you’re such a
good customer – they already know what kind
of customer you are, but they definitely want you
to stay their customer.
A fun alternative is to phone your current company,
get an offer from them, and then phone around more
and try to get them to beat it. Once it’s
beaten, call your company back and let them know.
Drive a hard bargain, and be prepared to walk away
(well, hang up). If you turn down their so-called
‘best offer’, hang up and wait half
an hour, there’s a good chance that you’ll
get a call offering you a better one!
It isn’t just on credit card companies that
these tricks get results. It works because it costs
a company so much to get a new customer (the ‘cost
of acquisition’), and so it’s cheaper
for them to offer you a better deal, just to keep
you. Try it with your Internet Service Provider
(ISP) sometime.
Credit Card Resources
Unsecured Credit Cards for bad credit
Reward Credit Cards (good credit required)
Guaranteed Approval Pre-paid Credit Cards
Payday Loan Companies
Secured Credit Cards
About the Author
Liz Roberts is a loan consultant with NewHorizon
Finance and has been providing consumers
and business owners with financing since 1989.
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Copyright 2005 |
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