What You Can Do If Your Credit Card Company Raised Your Interest Rate
Have you seen a rise in your credit card interest rates yet? If you haven’t you better buckle up because you probably will. Many cardholders are now reporting that their rates have been doubled even though they have never been late in making a payment. All the major credit card companies including American Express, Bank of America, Citibank, Capital One and HSBC have cited current economic conditions as a reason for raising interest rates on their cardholders.
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that the nearly 4 million cardholders that currently enjoy interest rates below 10% will soon see their rates jump into the double digits. The timing of course, couldn’t be worse for many credit card customers. As the unemployment rate rises, more and more people are finding themselves struggling financially. Raising interest rates on credit card balances is only going to exacerbate the financial troubles currently being felt by consumers.
There are some steps that you can take to protect yourself against these aggressive rate hikes, but they are not a magic panacea, nor a cure-all by any stretch of imagination. For anyone that has seen their interest rates rise sharply, or for anyone that may see this in the future, the following steps can be taken to mitigate the effect.
Contact Your Credit Card Company – Many people don’t realize this but you can always approach your credit card company and negotiate more favorable interest rates. That doesn’t mean that you will automatically get them, but believe me, it doesn’t hurt to ask and sometimes you’ll be surprised at what you can get. One thing is for certain, if you don’t ask for more favorable interest rates you most certainly will not get them. You have nothing to lose.
Pay off Your Account – If you carry a balance currently and suddenly see your interest rate spike and are in the enviable position that you can afford to pay off your credit cards then by all means do so. As long as you do not have a balance on your credit card you cannot be charged interest.
Shop Around and Compare Credit Cards – If you feel you are suddenly being squeezed by your credit card issuer then by all means go to a reputable credit card comparison website such as www.bestcreditquote.com and compare the various credit card offers. Many times you can find a better deal than what you are already receiving. Don’t feel as though you must stay loyal to your current credit card company, especially if they just jacked up your rates.
Even though interest rates are hovering near record lows, the credit card companies are now aggressively finding ways to make up for lost profits due to defaults and charge-offs. That unfortunately means that for those individuals that play by the rules and pay on time, they will be put on the hook financially for those that do not. Hopefully by utilizing the information we laid out above you’ll be prepared if and when this happens to you.
Related Information:
- What You Can Do If Your Credit Card Company Raises Your Interest Rate Find out how to approach your credit card company if you suddenly find your interest rates have been raised....
- Will Interest Rate Hikes Backfire on the Credit Card Companies See how credit card companies may be digging themselves into a deeper hole than they're already in....
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