topic Re: APR reduction can be done in Credit Cards

APR reduction can be done

TiggerDat — Sat, 18 Jul 2015 00:24:14 GMT

I have 17 major credit cards and I make a point of asking for APR reductions occasionally on some of them. So a few days ago I decided to simply do the circuit and ask them all.

I got 7 permanent reductions and 4 temporary reductions.

Amex - 2 cads reduced, now at 14.99 (Hilton Honors) and 16.99 (BCP)

FNBO - reduced to 14.99

Discover -reduced to 17.24

Barclay Rewards - reduced to 17.24

Sallie Mae - reduced to 16.99

Citi Dividend - reduced to 20.99

Temporary reductions

APRs not listed here on them

3 Capital One Cards

Comerica/Elan also temporary

One card already at the lowest APR offered for that account for over a year: Marathon Visa.

No go's and will never lower it according to the CSRs

PayPal Masters Extra MC @ 23.99

No go's and possibly only with a HP

BofA

PNC

Chase

Didn't ask:

Huntington Voice - New card

The hardest of these to get lowered was the Barclay Rewards card which required me filing a case with them and getting a call back from an 'Account Manager'

So it can be done and everyone really should do it. Even if you PIF each month, you never know what the future might hold.

Most of the reductions were 3-4 points.

Re: APR reduction can be done

kdm31091 — Sat, 18 Jul 2015 00:26:44 GMT

Chase will never do it I know that much. Discover and Amex have reduced mine easily. Havent tried with Cap One yet but have heard they are tougher.

I just got my new Citi card so wont be asking anytime soon as its at 0 percent for 15 months anyway.

Comenity basically laughed and told me no. I get the feeling it will never happen w them.

Re: APR reduction can be done

kdm31091 — Sat, 18 Jul 2015 00:27:18 GMT

Any stories on US Bank reductions?

Re: APR reduction can be done

NRB525 — Sat, 18 Jul 2015 00:37:25 GMT

@kdm31091 wrote:
Any stories on US Bank reductions?

I called a few weeks go to get my first Cash+ reduced. They gave me a 6 month temporary reduction from 18.99% to 16.99%.

Re: APR reduction can be done

NRB525 — Sat, 18 Jul 2015 00:37:47 GMT

Congratulations OP, that's quite a list of reductions!

Re: APR reduction can be done

kdm31091 — Sat, 18 Jul 2015 00:38:33 GMT

So I guess us bank is more into temp reductions, kinda like Capital One?

And yes OP. Great job!

Re: APR reduction can be done

TiggerDat — Sat, 18 Jul 2015 00:41:13 GMT

@kdm31091 wrote:
Any stories on US Bank reductions?
Comerica/Elan is basically US Bank, so I imagine the policies are the same. They told me they can only give reductions on a temporary basis. They did make it seem as if I called in again in six months when it is over, I can do it again. They are probably like CapOne, wanting you to forget when it is over so they can make more interest.

Re: APR reduction can be done

kdm31091 — Sat, 18 Jul 2015 00:44:46 GMT

Thats lame. Oh well. Discover is my lowest and assuming they keep reducing it, theyll remain my lowest.

I wonder what the bottom APR possible for an IT card is!

Re: APR reduction can be done

Anonymous — Sat, 18 Jul 2015 00:57:28 GMT

Nice job on the reductions!

Re: APR reduction can be done

Anonymous — Sat, 18 Jul 2015 01:29:48 GMT

well elan raised me from the 12.99 i had since 2009 to 18.99 so they better permanently reduce it soon..

Re: APR reduction can be done

Anonymous — Sat, 18 Jul 2015 03:18:12 GMT

Nicely done! I just lowered APR on Barclay yesterday, have not tried for others because I just added a ton of new accounts and don't want t get their hackles up.

Re: APR reduction can be done

FinStar — Sat, 18 Jul 2015 03:28:17 GMT

@TiggerDat wrote:
I have 17 major credit cards and I make a point of asking for APR reductions occasionally on some of them. So a few days ago I decided to simply do the circuit and ask them all.

I got 7 permanent reductions and 4 temporary reductions.

Amex - 2 cads reduced, now at 14.99 (Hilton Honors) and 16.99 (BCP)
FNBO - reduced to 14.99
Discover -reduced to 17.24
Barclay Rewards - reduced to 17.24
Sallie Mae - reduced to 16.99
Citi Dividend - reduced to 20.99

Temporary reductions
APRs not listed here on them
3 Capital One Cards
Comerica/Elan also temporary

One card already at the lowest APR offered for that account for over a year: Marathon Visa.

No go's and will never lower it according to the CSRs
@Anonymous Masters Extra MC @ 23.99 - Correct, unless you were part of a review of select cardholders who received automatic APR reductions during 2014. You may likely see a unicorn before this APR gets lowered. Synchrony's APRs are pretty much static unless you qualify for Tier 1 on some of their co-branded cards on a first try.

No go's and possibly only with a HP
BofA - This one you can still try in another 6 months (all based on elegibility criteria).
PNC
Chase - won't happen unless they automatically reduce it on their own during staggered/periodic account reviews. Another unicorn sighting possible here.

Didn't ask:
Huntington Voice - New card - APR is pretty much what it is when you were approved (*insert* creditworthiness here) and will not go lower.

The hardest of these to get lowered was the Barclay Rewards card which required me filing a case with them and getting a call back from an 'Account Manager'

So it can be done and everyone really should do it. Even if you PIF each month, you never know what the future might hold.

Most of the reductions were 3-4 points.

Overall a good outcome OP - nicely done!

Re: APR reduction can be done

FinStar — Sat, 18 Jul 2015 03:30:08 GMT

@kdm31091 wrote:
Any stories on US Bank reductions?

Assuming you didn't get their best rate? US Bank will not lower by request (temporary reductions possible). In rare instances, depending on internal criteria and overall credit profile, they've been known to lower it for some accounts - again, key word here beign rare.

Re: APR reduction can be done

Anonymous — Sat, 18 Jul 2015 03:34:17 GMT

Good work!

Re: APR reduction can be done

kdm31091 — Sat, 18 Jul 2015 03:35:43 GMT

I got 18.99 on my cash+. Surely not the best

Re: APR reduction can be done

FinStar — Sat, 18 Jul 2015 03:40:00 GMT

@kdm31091 wrote:
I got 18.99 on my cash+. Surely not the best

Oh, that's not terribly bad! Sure, not super prime, but at least it's not above the 20% bracket. I was thinking you got the highest.

Re: APR reduction can be done

kdm31091 — Sat, 18 Jul 2015 03:50:24 GMT

Apparently ill need to live with it since they don't really reduce APRs haha!

Re: APR reduction can be done

Anonymous — Sat, 18 Jul 2015 14:51:10 GMT

@TiggerDat wrote:
I have 17 major credit cards and I make a point of asking for APR reductions occasionally on some of them. So a few days ago I decided to simply do the circuit and ask them all.

I got 7 permanent reductions and 4 temporary reductions.

Amex - 2 cads reduced, now at 14.99 (Hilton Honors) and 16.99 (BCP)
FNBO - reduced to 14.99
Discover -reduced to 17.24
Barclay Rewards - reduced to 17.24
Sallie Mae - reduced to 16.99
Citi Dividend - reduced to 20.99

Temporary reductions
APRs not listed here on them
3 Capital One Cards
Comerica/Elan also temporary

One card already at the lowest APR offered for that account for over a year: Marathon Visa.

No go's and will never lower it according to the CSRs
@Anonymous Masters Extra MC @ 23.99

No go's and possibly only with a HP
BofA
PNC
Chase

Didn't ask:
Huntington Voice - New card

The hardest of these to get lowered was the Barclay Rewards card which required me filing a case with them and getting a call back from an 'Account Manager'

So it can be done and everyone really should do it. Even if you PIF each month, you never know what the future might hold.

Most of the reductions were 3-4 points.

very nice job, I was hoping to see a chase reduction though.

Re: APR reduction can be done

kdm31091 — Sat, 18 Jul 2015 14:55:08 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@TiggerDat wrote:
I have 17 major credit cards and I make a point of asking for APR reductions occasionally on some of them. So a few days ago I decided to simply do the circuit and ask them all.

I got 7 permanent reductions and 4 temporary reductions.

Amex - 2 cads reduced, now at 14.99 (Hilton Honors) and 16.99 (BCP)
FNBO - reduced to 14.99
Discover -reduced to 17.24
Barclay Rewards - reduced to 17.24
Sallie Mae - reduced to 16.99
Citi Dividend - reduced to 20.99

Temporary reductions
APRs not listed here on them
3 Capital One Cards
Comerica/Elan also temporary

One card already at the lowest APR offered for that account for over a year: Marathon Visa.

No go's and will never lower it according to the CSRs
@Anonymous Masters Extra MC @ 23.99

No go's and possibly only with a HP
BofA
PNC
Chase

Didn't ask:
Huntington Voice - New card

The hardest of these to get lowered was the Barclay Rewards card which required me filing a case with them and getting a call back from an 'Account Manager'

So it can be done and everyone really should do it. Even if you PIF each month, you never know what the future might hold.

Most of the reductions were 3-4 points.
very nice job, I was hoping to see a chase reduction though.

It's not gonna happen. Chase doesn't reduce APRs. For anyone. Your only chance is to cancel and reapply.

Re: APR reduction can be done

Anonymous — Sat, 18 Jul 2015 16:01:33 GMT

One thing to be careful about when deciding whether to ask for APR reductions. My husband has 810 FICO, never any negatives in all of his 30 years of credit, and very high credit limits on all of his major cc's. I helped him call around to ask for APR reduction, and Citi and one other bank (maybe BoA?) REDUCED his credit limit because they felt he had too much available credit. That's an awful thing to do to someone who has a squeaky clean history, just because they saw that the other credit grantors had given him super high limits (guess their attitude was, let the other lenders take the risk).

He's had all of the cards for many years and had a great relationship with all of the lenders, so he doesn't even have any inquiries or new apps. Nothing like that at all. Never a late payment either.

He was really upset and I was sorry that I had even suggested trying to get his APR reduced because he was such a great customer. And he has a 30 year positive credit history. Just something to keep in mind that it could come back to bite you. Think about it before deciding.