Big Tap

iTrader: (3)

So my situation is that I got this particular credit card in college. I accrued some debt on it then and have put some on it since then. I have a fair amount on it, but nothing too extreme.
My problem is that it's one of those cards with a variable interest rate and now it's through the roof. I've had this card for the better part of 9 years and have always payed the minimum at the very least, but usually I pay more. I think I've been late on payment 2 or 3 times at most, but never delinquent. I've never had a problem paying it, but I'm just tired of paying this ridiculous amount for nothing.
Is there anything I can do with the company to get the rate down or lock it in at a lower fixed rate? I'm done putting things on this card and have pretty much quit spending on credit cards all together. It's just frusterating when 60%-70% of their minimum due amount is going to interest. Can I threaten to cancel the line of credit to get it lower maybe? I'm not real familiar with what I can do in this situation. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.

wickedrx7

iTrader: (1)

One time I had a high rate that was like 25% so I went to the bank and got a loan for a much lower interest rate and then paid that credit card off with the loan.
You can try talking to the credit card company as well. If it's an option, transfer some of the balance to another lower interest credit card as well.

Itsslow

iTrader: (3)

Id start with talking to the credit card company..

PERFECT Z28

iTrader: (7)

Why not take out a personal loan (lower APR) and pay off all your CC's?

2 SLOW

Take out a loan and pay it off. Paying the minimum for 9 years has been a waste of money for the most part.


and this thread requires advice dog:

aggiez28

iTrader: (19)

call them and ask for a lower rate, I have done this a few times and its worked. if you have other cards see about doing a balance transfer. you can get 0% for 12 months or somthing along the lines of 3% for the life of the balance most of the time.
If you only have one card it might be a good idea to get a few more (as long as you can manage them well). credit cards can be a useful tool but they can also be the cause of a lot of problems if not managed well.

BADZ

iTrader: (5)

Cash is the only way. You would probley need to call and threaten to move your balance to another bank card if they don't lower the rates...99% they will because they want your business.

AgFormula02

iTrader: (13)

Credit market is tight, that is a problem. The late pay is an issue, even if you did not go delinquent.
The minimum payment should be about 1 or 2 percent of the balance. I suggest doing a balance transfer if at all possible.
(I saw one in the mail for o% for 12 months, but 3% balance tranfer fee - You may be able to negotiate on that)
It is all about credit scores right now. Banks want debt, but good debt. It helps their overall portafolio when they can pick up customers who are likely to pay.

slayer_taunu

iTrader: (3)

well, your first problem is that you are only paying the minimum or 'a little more'... which is why you are in debt to begin with. you are buying things you really cant afford and like you stated, the interest is killing you.

but enough with being your dad, and on to dealing with the hear and now... i suggest to either:
1) call your CC company and ask for a lower, fixed rate. i've done this myself and it works as long as you have a good payment history.

2) apply for a different card with a lower, fixed rate and do a balance transfer. balance transfers usually have a much much lower rate because they want you to jump to their card company. sometimes the balance transfer might even have a special promotion like 0% interest for 6mo or something like that. that can really help you get out of debt.

Big Tap

iTrader: (3)

Like I said, money isn't the issue in terms of paying it. If I got really aggressive with it, I could probably have it paid of pretty quickly. It's just the principle of having an outrageous rate that's pissing me off. The rate use to not be that bad. I think I am going to call and threaten to move my balance. It's just out of hand. I have A+ credit and a great history with them, besides paying a bill one or two days late a few times over a nine year run. I was just curious what others have done in my situation and what your tactics were to get a better rate than I'm currently getting.

Blackfly

iTrader: (13)

^Best advise.

It is tuff right now to get a card with a limit large enough to carry your entire balance. Some cards will only tell you how much you can transfer AFTER you sign up with them. They will not tell you what you qualify for over the phone. You may have to get a couple of cards and spread your balance across multiple cards.

If you decide to spread your debt, plan on applying for cards every couple of months and only apply for the ones that make it worth the initial hit on your credit report. Every time you apply for a card it shows on the credit report, so applying for a bunch of cards in one weekend will make your approval rating much worse, it makes you look desperate so space out your credit card requests.

If you have 401K see if you can take a loan out (its your money) pay off all the debt and then pay yourself back. Unfortunately 401K's are in the gutter right now, 30% of it went into someone else's pocket when the market began the downward slope. Everyone is loosing their *** and there is nothing you can do about it. Before you lose it all, pay off your debt. It's shitty to do because that is the "retirement" account, right now, your future retirement is slowly being sucked away.

DOOM AND GLOOM

Hay, look at it this way...The faster you pay your debt off the soon-er you will be able to kick-back and not worry about who you owe and how you are going to pay. You may be broke but it is better than being broke, no job and a **** load of bills still to pay. The job market is real bad and I expect it to get worse.

Pay off that debt!

2 SLOW

Why haven't you paid it off and you could do it pretty quickly? You have A+ credit..so get a loan and pay off the loan. Something isn't adding up...

How much do you owe on the card? and what other debt do you have?

7420NW7TH

iTrader: (8)

File bankruptcy, that'll teach 'em..

Doomsday

iTrader: (8)

Citibank just raised mine from 4.9 to 16.99. Also on another one, I called bank of america to lower it since it was 16.99% and they said nothing can be done. I didnt care much, just made me more determine to pay it off and use another bank. All of my CC accounts have always been on time too. I been monitoring my credit score and has been going up now that I know how CC work, percentage of limits used and all that bullshit. I should be credit card debt free by May if all goes well. Just pay student loan and truck(which will be gone soon). I didnt realize how much debt until I added it all up. So much money I was giving away just from monthly interest. I been more disciplined about it now.

-Ross-

iTrader: (2)

If I was reading my last statement correctly, my Capital One card will be going from 10% to 19.9% next month.
I assume this is because the economy is in the *******, because I have never been late on one single payment in the 3 -1/2 years I've had the card.

I use this card for convenience and pay it down each month, so this shouldn't really affect me, but it's still GAY.

Ravenous T\A

iTrader: (12)

I had my Universal Card do that last month, APR jumped to 19.9% or something close to that for no apparent reason, I called them and what they said is due to the economy they increased the rate was so people will call and ask why, then they give u an option for a lower fixed rate then u had before for the length of what balance you have but they will close the card down when it expires on the cards date, then that left over remaining balance will still be at the lower rate which u had signed up for when u called them about the rate hike. Some of the card companies are trying to close out accounts and make it easier for people to pay down or off their debt. That same card sent me a letter, it is offerering me upto $550 credit towards my balance if i pay above there minimum amout they will match it by 20% up to $550. The kicker is I will not be able to use that card for any purches until that credit has been applied at the end of 3months, glad I dont use that card so I took the offer.....hell its free money to help pay it down

325trooper

iTrader: (2)

Check your credit report. You may think you have A+ credit, but you won't really know until you look at it. And today is actually the last day you will ever be able to see your Experian score. Starting tomorrow they are bending the consumers over. If your rate is going up so high, I personally doubt your credit is a good as you think. If you have a high utilization on your card, that's not good. You want to keep it 35% or below, preferably way below, even if you do pay in full each month. If you currently have debt on it, don't count on them lowering anything in these times.

ulakovic22

iTrader: (12)

Only way CC company makes money is late fees/finance charges/interchange fees/NSF fees. Doesn't matter anymore if you are good/bad customer, CC companies need revenue to offset the massive losses they are taking. They are more likely to raise the rates on good customers because good customers actually pay, doesn't make sense to raise the rates on someone who is just going to charge off in 60 days anyway.

Calling more than likely won't do anything, but if your rate was increased recently you can opt out of the change in terms. They will close the card and you can pay the balance off at the old rate. Problem is you have no credit crad anymore. Another good way is what has been said above, get a small personal loan to pay it off completely then hopefully you will have a lower rate.

I'm not sure of any CC companies doing 0% balance transfers, etc. If you find a low rate then transfer but they will charge you to transfer and more than likely jack it up 2-3 months later. At that time you have to opt out. CC companies also need to reduce their exposure so threatening to close or move banks isn't going to do anything, because the lower the total credit line of all the cards issued the less capital the CC company has to have to operate.

7420NW7TH

iTrader: (8)

What I found funny was I have gotten several letters from credit card companies canceling some of my cards that I haven't used in a long time, and they also didn't have balances on them. I guess they're afraid of the impending doom (w/ the economy the way it is) of living off credit cards with no income, then filing bankruptcy. I was actually glad they did, I've been meaning to cancel those cards and just never got around to doing it...

CySevans

Paying the minimum is the worst thing you could do. On average, it you're only making the minimum payment, it will take you 40 years to pay it off.

When things started going to hell in a handbasket last year, I consolidated everything I could into an installment loan with my bank (3.99%) and the rest I pulled into a new credit card also with my Credit Union (2.99% for the first 6 months, 6.99% thereafter - I'll pay it off in 6 months).

Be careful about balance transfers. Read the fine print. They may say 1.99%, but there's usually a transfer fee that is a percentage of the balance. This is how they get you. My Credit Union doesn't charge for balance transfers or cash advances, which is why I got the card through them.

And you can still have A+ credit with late payments (unlikely, but possible). Just don't ever let them get 30+ days past due. That's when a ding will show up on your credit report. And if you float more than 50% of the available credit in the balance, that will also hurt you. If you have excellent credit, you can negotiate with your creditor. The last thing they would want is for you to transfer that balance because then they'll lose the interest income.

And don't cancel your cards. That's another ding against you. You should use them every so often and then pay off the balance at the end of the month to keep the account in good standing.