I haven't really used credit very much. I really only have one credit card that sees any use. I pay off each month, so the rate hasn't really affected me.

I'm planning to request an increase in my limit and decrease in my interest rate on my the credit card I took out through my bank just for the heck of it. What is a good rate these days? I'm at 14.75% right now, but I haven't shopped around and really don't know what is considered good. Any perks I should ask for?

[Edited on February 6, 2009 at 1:37 PM. Reason : l]

2/6/2009 1:34:54 PM

I've heard if you pay the card off regularly you should be able to just ask the credit card company to lower the rate themselves. That might require or come about best when you have a balance remaining on it though and you're just paying off installments on time.

I haven't done it myself yet as I haven't had a need to drop a lot onto CCs

2/6/2009 2:55:03 PM

my Sony card is 8.99%

It was around 15% a year ago, which i never cared about because i never carried a balance.

but when i was paying two mortgages for six months last year I needed to pay some bills with my credit card to make ends meet, and I called and asked for a lower rate based on my history and credit score and they dropped it.

back to carrying no balance again, but it's nice to have a relatively low interest rate card for emergencies.

2/6/2009 4:07:36 PM

14.75%??? Sweet Jesus man that's high as hell. They should definitely drop it if you ask them.

My AMEX card is at 6.99% (been with them for 9 years) and my BofA card is 9.99% (I asked them to lower and they said they couldn't )

2/6/2009 4:08:46 PM

^ thats not that high...I know plenty of people with cards in the 18-25% range

2/6/2009 4:25:47 PM

My SECU Visa card is 9.75%, and I got it when I was semi and underemployed. I think they'll give those to anyone, but if you have a real job you can do better.

2/6/2009 5:52:55 PM

I have 29.99%. is that bad?

[Edited on February 8, 2009 at 12:19 PM. Reason : nah, just kidding]

2/8/2009 12:19:11 PM

I've got a Wachovia Visa that's 10.99%

2/8/2009 2:04:56 PM

I just pay it off each month so I never really cared too much about the rate. This is the card they offered me six or seven years ago and I've never requested a limit increase or a rate decrease. I think I'll call and shoot for something under 10%.

2/8/2009 7:16:11 PM

8%

2/9/2009 8:35:25 AM

i have 7.75 on both my Amex and MC (no annual fees + 5% cash rewards for the Amex). They were both 5.75 before the credit crisis. Who cares though throw away your debit card charge everything and pay off the statement balance every month. I havent paid a cent of interest since i got the cards.

[Edited on February 9, 2009 at 1:51 PM. Reason : cvbx]

2/9/2009 1:50:01 PM

8% or lower is a good rate on a CC, but they can basically raise and lower that rate at will.

2/9/2009 3:05:50 PM

I have one card with really good rewards (5% on gas station/grocery store/drug store purchases; 1% on everything else), and one card with a much lower interest rate. I don't know exactly what it is, because I never carry a balance, but I know that if something catestrophic happened that forced me to, I'd have a card with a more reasonable interest rate (and I've had that card open for longer, so I keep it open for the sake of my credit score).

2/10/2009 2:41:59 AM

my capitol one is 6%. I've had it a long time though.

2/13/2009 9:11:27 AM

^^
I'm with theDuke. I don't particularly care about the rate because it gets paid off every month. Don't plan on using it except for true emergencies (hospital visits), at which point, probably have more important things to focus on than a one-month interest hit. Card I'm on is 5% back on gas, 2% dining, 1% everything else. Haven't paid a penny in interest, probably received $1000+ worth of free gas over the past two years.

Get a rewards card with autodraft if you plan on paying off monthly. Plenty of websites cover which are the best rewards card deals/offers at a given point in time.

[Edited on March 3, 2009 at 8:31 PM. Reason : .]

3/3/2009 8:29:24 PM

0% is about the best rate you are going to get....

3/6/2009 3:09:50 PM

SECU 9.99 percent

3/7/2009 9:20:40 PM