In Past Year, More Than 8 in 10 Cardholders Who Asked for a Lower APR Were Successful

When looking for lower rates, waived fees or higher credit limits, it still pays to ask in 2019 - but too few women are doing so

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CompareCards

Apr 04, 2019, 12:00 ET

CHARLOTTE, N.C., April 4, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 8 in 10 credit cardholders who asked for a lower interest rate in the past year were successful, according to a new report from CompareCards.com. However, too few people take the time to make that call – and women are the most likely to leave that money on the table.

CompareCards asked more than 1,000 credit cardholders whether they requested any of the following from their card issuers in the past year: a waived or reduced annual fee, an increased credit limit, a waived late fee and a reduced APR or interest rate. The results revealed that significantly more than half of those who ask – and sometimes more than three in four who ask – received a positive response. Yet, most Americans still don't ask, and oftentimes it's because they don't know they can initiate these types of requests.

Key findings

Eighty-one percent of those who requested a reduced APR in the past year were successful, but just one in five cardholders asked.

The average APR reduction was about 6 percentage points.

Of those who asked to have a late fee waived in the past year, 87 percent were successful. Almost half (48 percent) of those who incurred a late fee asked for a waiver in the past year.
Seventy-nine percent of those who asked to have a credit limit increased in the past year were successful.

The average increase was about $1,500.

Of those who asked to have an annual fee waived in the past year, 67 percent were successful, while another 24 percent had their annual fee reduced.
Men are more likely to ask for these breaks, but there's little difference in the success rate between men and women among those who ask.
By far the most common reason given for not asking: "I didn't know that I could." "I didn't think I'd be successful" was also a common answer.

"For the many Americans carrying debt, you're doing yourself a disservice by not at least picking up the phone and making one of these requests," said Matt Schulz, Chief Industry Analyst at CompareCards. "That's especially true when it comes to lowering your interest rate. If you carry a balance, reducing your interest even a few points will significantly reduce how much interest you pay over time and how long it takes to pay it off."

To view the full report, visit https://www.comparecards.com/blog/8-in-10-got-lower-apr-credit-card-study/.

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About CompareCards:
CompareCards' mission is to help people make smarter, more informed, healthier financial decisions based on deeper knowledge of financial offers. Each month, over 2.9 million visitors come to CompareCards' website to independently compare credit cards side-by-side and choose a credit card based on interest rate, reward benefit, cost savings, and other factors that are important to each person. CompareCards provides easy-to-use, objective tools and educational resources that help people do everything from making credit card comparisons to managing their credit health. For more information, please visit www.comparecards.com.

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SOURCE CompareCards