ULPT Request: What can I say/do to get a credit card company to reduce my APR?
Posted by tila1993@reddit | UnethicalLifeProTips | View on Reddit | 34 comments
I've had an American Express credit card for close to a decade at this point. Never missed a payment, and have had 1 late payment (on accident). My APR is currently 29.24% which is crazy. It's gone up over 10% since I've had my card and it's getting ridiculous how it keeps raising. I tried calling to negotiate a lower rate and was essentially laughed at.
TheNetworkIsFrelled@reddit
Get a new card with a better APR, move the balance, cancel the AMEX. If they ask tell them why.
KeyMysterious1845@reddit
nothing.
CC don't care.
I have 800+ credit score...CCs opened for decades....use the hell out of CCs every month...pay them in full every month...APRs are 24% +....its absolutely ridiculous.
they will not budge on APRs anymore...they used to...but no more.
we played the transfer balance game for 0% years ago ....ate the 3% that gets charged to get away from 15% rates (this was years ago).
we wound up with so many credit cards. most were never used after the 0% expired/balance payed off...but we never closed them (hurts your credit score)...after a few years on inactivity, they will close the CC (does not hurt your score).
denise7410@reddit
Amex doesn’t really negotiate. I used to call Citibank every 6 months and they would usually lower it u til the point they said it was the lowest. Get a Discover card. They usually have 0% balance transfer for like 15 months.
tila1993@reddit (OP)
Balance transfered to CiTi 0% forb21 months. Then 15-30% apr
denise7410@reddit
I remember when 10.9% was “too high”
Due_Bid_5420@reddit
I'm a huge fan of credit unions for this. I have a navy fed cc and my apr is under 11% while my chase sapphire card is at 26%.
Not really unethical butttttt as said before big banks are amazing at unethically fucking with people so it's hard to unethical them
Legal_Creme7319@reddit
Do you just go to credit using and ask for loan?
Due_Bid_5420@reddit
Honestly not sure, it's been awhile since I've gotten a loan from them.
KingBooRadley@reddit
Cancel the card and use another if you have to for a while. They will come crawling back with a better offer. You may feel free to laugh at them, or take the offer if you like.
BlondeFlowers@reddit
I wouldn't cancel the card that would lower your credit score
KingBooRadley@reddit
I meant to say that. Thanks.
tila1993@reddit (OP)
I've got debt sitting on it. That's why I'm trying to reduce the APR. Even told them that a lower APR was better than selling my debt for pennies.
thegreatbrah@reddit
I'm same situation. Please let me know if you figure it out.
czaremanuel@reddit
Literally nothing. They have a computerized data base that spits out info about you, and they calculate a rate. It’s very mechanical.
Some loans like mortgage or probably car loans, you can shop for rates because they want your business. Credit cards will make transaction fees from merchants whether you use their cards or not… Contrary to popular belief, they truly don’t give a shit if you use the card or pay interest. They want a large enough user base to motivate merchants to accept their cards, that’s where the real money comes from. After that point interest rates and fees from you are just gravy.
TLDR you can do fucking nothing. Get another card with a 12-18 month 0% balance transfer APR, punt the balance over for a few hundred bucks of fees, and save thousands on interest as you pay it off.
byteme4188@reddit
Balance transfer to another card. I did this with discover. They refused to lower my APR and kept pushing it.
I opened up a new card and balance transfered everything over and magically I got a letter with a 5k cli and a lower apr.
tila1993@reddit (OP)
I’m not surprised. I’m looking into options right now. Looking to balance transfer just over 5k. So far Citi seems to be the best bet. 21months 0% with 18-29 after.
byteme4188@reddit
Try that or better yet go to a credit union. Right now your paying interest to Amex so they'll want to keep you. If you transfer the balance they won't get that anymore. Balance transfer is the way to go
Pumpkin_Pie@reddit
Id get a different card
arrowtron@reddit
Get a new card with a better APR, do a balance transfer. This could also better your credit score if you lessen your overall credit utilization while doing this.
inkslingerben@reddit
I did this when I was divorced. I kept rolling over the debt and gradually paid it off. 5% is better than 29%. More of your payment is going to principle.
Diggity20@reddit
This here, much better deals out there. There are sights that help you shop for the card that suits you best.
InsideOutRat@reddit
I got the same issue with capital one
tila1993@reddit (OP)
Started off at 14.99%. Even told them that a lower APR was better than selling my debt for pennies.
Initial-Kangaroo-534@reddit
Yeah… that screams “I’m not going to pay this card off.” Of course they’re not lowering your APR—you’re a liability. They’re going to get as much out of you as they can before you default on your debts.
SerDuckOfPNW@reddit
Ummm…Is that a threat that you might stop paying them?
Not a strong plan.
tila1993@reddit (OP)
Works for the president /s
InsideOutRat@reddit
Get a new card with a 0% apr for 12 months or whatever and do a balance transfer.
Cancel the current card or leave it at $0 with a decade of credit history idk what is better tbh
Pay off the new card as much as you can in a year.
~
My card was stuck at 10K. I kept making $1000 payments every month cause that’s all I could afford, but because of the high APR, I’d get $300 of interest fees.
Now I have 5 months left to 6300. It’s still a lot but I don’t feel suffocated
Legal_Creme7319@reddit
What do you use to balance transfer? Like paypal?
kefkas@reddit
When you activate the new card, they will walk you through the balance transfers. They know that this is what people use it for, and it should be easy once you get the new card.
rsmutus@reddit
Another credit card
crazyblunts@reddit
Use their financial hardship program. They give you 2 years to pay it off at a much lower rate. You won’t be able to use the card until you pay it off. It won’t really affect your score but it’ll show on your credit report that you’re in the program and lenders will know.
DragonflyCareless489@reddit
Really? Have you tried this?
crazyblunts@reddit
Yes. I used the chat feature on the app and told them I was struggling to make payments. I got the runaround at first but I persisted. You have to say, “financial hardship”. They asked what the financial hardship was and I told them I lost my job and was running low on funds. They take what you owe and divide it by 24 months.
Microballer@reddit
Credit car companies are so unethical, you are gonna have a hard time out unethicaling them sir.