My little corner on credit cards
Either way, when you are speaking with someone who can change your interest rate, lay out your case politely and calmly and be prepared to negotiate. If you cannot come to an agreement on your first call, thank the representative, end the call, and call back another day, when you may get someone who is more willing to help you. (Although customer service representatives are required to follow regulations, they have some leeway in how far they are willing to go for a given customer. ) Credit card customers who tried calling up their issuers and using this method were able to lower their interest rates more than half the time, for an average drop of 5 to 6 percent. Some were able to get their interest rates halved.