Money Saving Tip

January 31, 2008 on 11:30 am | In Some of This Some of That | 2 Comments

The financial news is constantly reminding us of banks and mortgage lenders who are in financial trouble due to their lending practices over the past several years.  While experts have not come out and said it, the U.S. economy is not in its best shape right now.  The dollar is down and interest rates were up, until recently.

Last week, and again this week, the fed has lowered its prime lending rate.  This is very good news for consumers, especially those with higher rate mortgages, high interest loans, and even high interest credit cards.  Don’t sit around and wait for a bank or lender to reduce your rate.  Take matters into your own hands and make some phone calls!

Example:  Last week I received a balance transfer offer from one of my credit cards for a low rate of 4.99% for the balance of the loan.  This is an amazing credit card rate.  This particular card currently has no balance on it.  However, I have another card with a balance and an APR of 16.41%.  So, I called company B and asked if they would consider matching the rate of 4.99%.  I was told they couldn’t do that, but they did reduce my rate to 9.99%.  Not bad considering I’ve had that credit card for less than a year.

Now, I’m very pleased that they reduced the rate, but I do still plan to take advantage of the balance transfer offer.   Paying less in interest  charges means I will be able to pay off the full balance much sooner.

The point here is, call your credit card companies.  Ask if they can give you a lower interest rate.  The worst that can happen is that they say no.  Chances are though, they will work with you, especially if you let them know you have another offer in the wings!

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2 Comments

  1. We do that all the time. We recently transferred our high balances from Capital One to a lower rate. When my hubby called Capital One to see if they could offer a lower rate, they said no. He didn’t really care since we had transferred the money already so he asked to close the account. They threatened him saying that they have to report it to the credit bureau. Needless to say, we still cancelled but will stay away from Capital One.

    Kari’s last blog post..I’m Bored

    Comment by Kari — February 3, 2008 #

  2. Kari – It was Capital One that I called to get my rate reduced. I still have a balance there, so maybe that gave me leverage when I said I was going to transfer it. They did lower my rate by about 5.5%, but I’m still transferring the balance! I haven’t been overly happy with that card and I haven’t even had it for a year.

    Comment by Lynne — February 4, 2008 #

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