How to Lower Credit Card Interest Rates

If you want to get a better rate on your credit card, the best thing that you can always do is just to pay off that statement balance in full every single month because that's going to bring your interest rate down to zero from whatever it was at and that's always the best case scenario. But if you can't do that, I've got some tips that can help you lower your interest rate without paying off that credit card balance in full. So watch this video, hopefully it can help you guys out. Now the first thing you need to understand is that most credit cards use a variable interest rate, meaning that it can vary. So for instance, your credit card might be 11% to 22% and they'll never actually tell you where you're going to fall into that range. But the first tip that I can give you to keep you on the lower end of that range is to make sure that you always pay off your credit card bill on time. That's the big thing here. Even if you make the minimum payment, just pay it off on time and then also make sure that you're keeping up with your other bills as well. Because as long as your credit score is healthy and growing, then typically you're going to end up in that lower tier, which is exactly what you want with your credit card. Because if it is 11% to 22%, you'd much rather prefer to be an 11 rather than 22 just because your credit score is more risky to them. So just make sure that you keep up with your bills, keep your credit score healthy, and of course when it comes to your credit card, don't make any late payments on that specifically. Because if you do, they can actually bump you into a penalty APR, which is generally higher than even the highest rate. So definitely make sure that you're making those minimum payments at least on time and then you are good to go. Because at the end of the day, if you don't show any late payments and you've got a pretty healthy credit score, then generally speaking, you're less risk to the credit card company and therefore you're going to be on the lower tier of their interest rate if you do happen to be paying interest. Now the next tip that I have for you guys if you want to lower your interest rate on your credit card is my number one tip because everybody can do this. All you have to do is literally just call up the credit card company and ask them for a lower rate because a lot of the time they want to keep your business because they want to stay competitive and they can actually lock you in at a better rate for a short period of time, maybe 6 to 12 months, but it never hurts to ask. Now the phone number, the easiest way to find it is just to check the back of your credit card. The phone number is always going to be there. Call that number, get the right representative and ask them because it doesn't hurt and everybody can always try to get a better interest rate because it's always worth trying. And it's like they always say, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. So just be the squeaky wheel, ask because it's never going to hurt and everybody can at least try to get a better rate by talking to the right person. Now the next thing you can do to lower your interest rate if you're willing to get a new credit card is to look for 0% balance transfer credit cards because these ones typically will have a 0% APR for about a year, sometimes I've even seen two years. So what you can do is you can take the balance from your previous credit card and you can move that into the new credit card at 0% interest. Now keep in mind a lot of them are going to have a balance transfer fee, that's different than the 0% APR. Now the transfer fee is typically going to be about 3% to 5%. So if you had a $1,000 balance, you're going to have to pay about $30 to $50 just to make that transaction. Now it doesn't sound like much when it's only $1,000 but if it's $10,000 that would be $300 to $500 instantly that you're losing just by making that balance transfer. So it's not always worth it when you run the numbers but if you have a low balance it might be something to consider. Just be wise here if you are looking into new credit cards because the last thing you want to do is just to open up a new credit card only to get back into the exact same problems that you were in and then you'll just end up with a whole bunch of credit cards and a big mess that you don't need to be in. So just be wise and only do this as a last resort if the math is working out and you really do want to get another credit card and eventually maybe cancel the old one. And just remember the best case here is that you can pay zero percent interest on your credit cards as long as you pay off that statement balance in full every single month because as long as you just focus on the statement balance, get it paid off by the due date, then you are paying zero percent interest and that is the best case scenario for any credit card that you have. Now if you do happen to be in the market for a new credit card like for instance you are looking for one with a good balance transfer offer, then definitely check out creditcards.com. I've got an affiliate link in the description below if you guys are interested because they do have a large selection of different categories. Like for instance if you're looking for balance transfer, cash back, travel, they've got a lot of different categories of competitive credit cards and competitive introductory offers. So definitely check them out if you have an interest. And if you just found this channel, I'm Jason with Honest Finance and I make a lot of videos on different topics that will give your life and your finances more value. So feel free to subscribe if you guys are into these types of videos. But thank you for watching this one. Have a great day.