New Year’s Resolution – To Negotiate a Better Interest Rate for All of Your Credit Cards

Every time there’s a new year ahead of us, it always feels like everything will be just fine in the world. Why? Well, in a nutshell, it’s all about being able to take care of things along the way, and you’ll have twelve perfect months ahead you in which to really make sure that you can make a nice start on what will become a great year.

What goal should you start with first? Well, since this is a financial site, you should probably start thinking about your finances in a big way. Where your money goes matters, which means that you need to look at your expenses. If you’re like most people, your biggest expenses will come from housing, food, and credit cards. It’s the last category that we’d like to focus on today, since this is where a lot of families get off track. Depending on where you live, you really can’t do much to lower your housing costs, or your food costs. But you can take care of your credit cards as long as you have the right information.

You see, many people think that their credit card interest rates are fixed in time, when the truth is that they really aren’t as fixed as you might think they are. The reality is that credit card companies do want to make as much money as possible, but they also want to make sure that they have as many customers as possible. If you have been a loyal customer for several years, you want to make sure that you’re still getting the most competitive rate possible.

This is the only way to really make sure that you’re only paying out as much money as it takes to pay down your debts. Who wants to pay for runaway interest?

So, how do you get started? Well, in a nutshell, you will want to make sure that you start your battle offline. While it’s true that a lot of people like to do things online and over the phone, it’s harder to have an actual paper trail. Write a letter to the appropriate department within the credit card company. Explain that you’ve been with the company for a long time, and that you would like to see about a lower interest rate. If you’re already aware of what rate you want, you can mention it in the letter.

Have the letter sent through certified mail, return receipt requested. It might seem like overkill to do it in this route, but the truth is that you don’t want to end up in the trash pile at the credit card company. Sending the letter through this format means that you are actually trying to conduct proper business, and it will make the company take you a lot more seriously than if you were just to beg and plead for a rate decrease over the phone.

If you get some resistance on the phone after you send the letter, you can refer back to the formal letter. You can also put forth the facts about your credit card history — including your loyalty to the company. This is usually enough for the credit card companies to try to work with you instead of against you.

Keep in mind that if you get the rate decrease that you want, you will need to make sure that you can handle it. You still must pay back your debt on time, which is something that people ignore, and then they get surprised when their interest rate goes up yet again!

Overall, you have the power to negotiate the best rate for your credit card — why not get started today?