I ’ve been conducting a reference card experiment over the last year and a half . I ’ve been carrying a nonaged Libra on a single card , and periodically I call up and ask the company to abbreviate my sake pace . As of last workweek , they have now done it three time in a row . Each time I call and call for ( in my case , the calls are about six months apart ) , I get another 2 - 5 % rate cut . I fit from having a card with a distressingly in high spirits rate ( it ’s an Amazon reward card , if you must love ) to one that ’s jolly reasonable . My goal is to keep push the pace down until I hit individual digits or the company stops listening to me .
The U.S. Public Interest Research Group did a subject area in 2002 , in which fifty consumer telephone their acknowledgment identity card troupe and requested lower rates . Over half of those who called were honor with low-spirited charge per unit , in some cause immensely grim , like cutting the charge per unit in one-half . ( study more about the bailiwick . ) The written report encouraged consumers to use this simple playscript when call the credit card party :
The study also suggested that some bold consumers follow the above script with a petition for a 10 % pearl in interest charge per unit , just to see what would befall – I guess they ’re better at huckster than me .
In my case , I just call up and suggest that , gee whiz , I ’ve been get a spate of offers in the postal service ( which I really do n’t , because Iopted outyears ago ) , and I ’ve get this balance , and sheesh , I ’d like to see about getting a lower pastime rate so I do n’t have to transfer my balance … and voila , they transpose me to someone who is " clear today only " to give me a lower rate . It ’s like magic .
Anyone require to join me in this experimentation ? I challenge you : call the number on the back of your identity card , drop a utmost of 5 - 10 moment on the call , and see if you do n’t get a lower charge per unit .
