I'm retired and in three months I will be seventy-one years old. I have had two credit cardaccounts and my credit report is clean with no late payments ever listed. The interest rate on both of my accounts is 24.99%. I called the bank and asked them to reduce the rate to 13.99%, but was told that I can't do anything to change the rates.
I have credit accounts with another bank and am only paying 2.99%-4.99% interest. Is there anything I can do with the other accounts to lower the interest rates?
Yes and no. Yes, you can appeal again to the issuers of those high rate accounts, but they control the rate, and aren't compelled to lower it. You can also pay the balances on those accounts down to zero over time by paying more than the monthly minimum and not using the cards. To do that, you might shop around for a promotional offer for a credit card account with the lower rate you're seeking, and use the lower-rate account for all new charges. The ultimate tactic, of course, is to manage your credit card debt downward to the point where you're paying off your balances every month, so that it doesn't matter what the rate is.
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Yes and no. Yes, you can appeal again to the issuers of those high rate accounts, but they control the rate, and aren't compelled to lower it. You can also pay the balances on those accounts down to zero over time by paying more than the monthly minimum and not using the cards. To do that, you might shop around for a promotional offer for a credit card account with the lower rate you're seeking, and use the lower-rate account for all new charges. The ultimate tactic, of course, is to manage your credit card debt downward to the point where you're paying off your balances every month, so that it doesn't matter what the rate is.
