Getting a Better Interest Rate

Now that Congress has recently enacted the Credit Card Reform Bill, certain credit card issuers are hastily trying to get their last shots in on consumers before the new legislation kicks in. This includes raising interest rates without provocation, before the Act is in place, and tacking on fees indiscriminately where there were none before. In fact, most of the major credit card issuers are ALL hastily adding fees and raising interest rates on their cards now as a way to compensate for revenue they will have to forego in the future.

If this happens to you, start shopping around immediately, because suprisingly, even now, you have options and don’t have to just eat the fees and higher interest rates from your card issuer when they try dishing them out to you.

Shop Around

Do not feel obligated to stay with the company you are currently with for any reason. You can still easily switch from one card issuer to another, which may be very useful if the new company has lower interest rates. Check in on different companies and their rates, and then decide if you’d like to switch. Switching to a new card with a lower interest rate, and little to no fees could save you a lot of money.

Pay On Time, Every Time

If you pay your monthly bill on time each month, your credit card company may be more likely to lower your interest rates. Another way to do this is by keeping your debt lower by paying off more than the minimum amount due each month. By keeping your debt low, and by paying on time, you just might be have a more attractive “risk premium” and be rewarded justly for it.

Don’t Get Too Close To Your Limits

Try not to get close to your overall limit. By maxing out your credit card, you can likely hurt yourself as well as your credit score.  You can also call your credit card company occasionally and make sure of what your limit is. Especially now during the hard times, there are credit card companies that will be quick to lower your credit limit without must notice in telling you. If your credit limit is lowered without your realizing it, the creditor will charge you high fees for going over your limit. If you stay away from your limit, the company will be more likely to keep your interest rate low and keep your credit in good standing. Less debt and a lower interest rate would be ideal for anyone, and keeping yourself far below your limit will make this possible.

The new Credit Card Reform is supposed to help keep your rates low, or at least keep your rates from getting any higher, and provide a bit more protection for consumers who use credit cards. Still, if you are careful you will be able to get a low interest rate and have less debt. The more reasonable it is for you to pay off your debts at the end the billing cycle, the less likely you will end up paying interest fees and penalty charges.

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This entry was posted on Saturday, August 22nd, 2009 at 3:31 pm and is filed under Credit Card News, Debt & Consolidation, Tips & Advice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.