Getting crushed by huge interest rates on credit cards? KPRC 2 Investigates shows you how to reduce them

SUGAR LAND, Texas – With inflation now the highest in 40 years and the Federal Reserve set to raise interest rates repeatedly, financial experts say credit card interest rates are also set to rise.

As things stand, credit card holders are paying an average interest rate of 16.3%, according to Experian.

So what can you do about it?

Christine Nguyen is a hardworking wife and mother of five and the owner of The Sweet Boutique bakery in Sugar Land.

She specializes in making beautiful designer desserts and imaginative cakes.

But she says paying the huge interest rates on the eleven different credit cards she uses is anything but child’s play!

“We are a family of seven and we are just a small business and we try to be successful every day and having to pay this exorbitant amount of interest on a credit card just hurts,” Nguyen said. .

Not only that, Nguyen and her husband have several cards with interest rates as high as 22.9% and they have accumulated around $24,000 in credit card debt.

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So you can easily see why Christine wants and needs help lowering her credit card interest rates.

Fortunately, according to a Bankrate.com study, 78% of people who took the time to ask their credit card company for a lower interest rate got one.

The problem is that most credit card holders never make that call.

So now, with the help of Richard Rosso, financial expert at RIA Advisors, we’re going to teach Christine three key steps to negotiating a lower interest rate with credit card companies.

The first step: Call your credit card company and let them know you’re a good customer.

“You have to ask them to look at your credit account history with the company and tell them, ‘I’ve never missed a payment. I’ve been with you for at least a year. And I rarely call to complain,” Rosso said.

Second step : Make your presentation. Ask them to lower your interest rate.

Tell them you’ve looked at other low interest credit cards on creditcards.com but you want to stay with them.

And remember to be kind, not demanding.

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“What you don’t want is to come in and say get down on this! Do this! interest rate,” Rosso said.

If that doesn’t work, you still have one game left.

Third step: Ask for the retention service, which will tell them that you are ready to leave them eventually. That you are serious.

“Tell them, ‘Can I talk to someone about your detention service?’ Say, “Look, I might have to investigate, and I hate to do it, but I might have to go investigate some other offers and transfer my account to another credit card company. I really want to stay with you, but I have to lower this interest rate,” Rosso said.

Finally, if you can’t lower your rate with your current credit card company, Ted Rossman with Bankrate.com has compiled a list of five incredibly low interest credit cards you should check out that are not tied to any of the mega banks.

• There is the Navy Federal Platinum Card with an interest rate of 5.9%. 18%, depending on your credit score.

• The Trustmark Bank Visa Platinum card at 6.15% to 11.15%.

• The Prime Lake Michigan Credit Union card at 6.25% to 14.25%.

• The USAA Rate Advantage Visa Platinum at 6.9% to 23.9%

• The first Federal Credit Union Platinum technology at 6.99% to 18.00%.

Two of these cards are designed to help those who have served or are currently serving in the military, but you don’t need to have served yourself, just having a relative who has served or is serving may suffice. to qualify.

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The two credit union cards listed above are an example of how local and community banks and credit unions can sometimes offer much lower interest rates on credit cards.

As Rossman says, “I don’t think a lot of people realize how much they’re paying in interest and how much just shopping around could save them.”