The most annoying thing about credit cards for bad credit is their high interest rates. However, you are not stuck with a high interest rate for life. Regardless of whether you have store cards, student cards, credit cards for bad credit, or any other kind of credit card that is saddled with an inconveniently high interest rate, there are ways to negotiate better credit card terms.

First, try phoning your credit card company and simply requesting that they lower your interest rate. According to a national survey, when credit card customers called their credit card company, said other companies had offered them lower interest rates, and told their current company that they were going to switch, 56 percent of the time their current company offered them lower rates as an incentive to stay. Credit card companies were willing to reduce their annual interest rates by an average of five to six points, and often offered additional incentives like zero percent interest for six months. One customer with an exorbitant interest rate managed to reduce it by more than half, encouraging news if you have a credit card for bad credit. Customers suffered no penalties if their credit card issuer refused to lower their interest rates. As long as you are polite to the credit card representatives, asking for a reduction in your interest rate is risk free and has an exceptionally high success rate.

The same method can be useful for convincing your credit card company to waive your annual fee. If you want to change your due date or move to a better rewards program, you do not even need to threaten to leave. Just ask politely.

You can improve your credit card terms remarkably even if you originally got your card under terms designed for credit cards for bad credit. You may even be able to get a deal equal to those enjoyed by premium credit cards. This is especially likely if you have had your credit card for a while (two or three years on average; four years or more is ideal), if you have made most of your payments on time for the past year or two, and if you are using a relatively small percentage of your line of credit. Even if you have had a credit card with your issuer for under a year, though, or have made late payments or used much of your line of credit, you may be able to convince your credit card company to improve your terms. A little civil persistence can do wonders for your credit card terms. It cannot hurt to ask.