I still not understand why, in an era of very low prime rates, many credit card companies still keep raising interest rates. They are not doing this because their customers have skipped payments or gone over their limits. These rate increases are just spread out to all of their active accounts, it seems. The lenders tell us that they need to do this to protect themselves in an era of greater risk.



Service at credit card companies is not improving because they charge more!

However, we, as consumers do not have to take this. It may seem as if the lenders have all the power though. They get to set the rate, and if we do not pay our monthly minimum payments they can do terrible things to our credit reports. Nobody will care how unfair your credit card company is. Nobody will care that when you try to call for answers you get a customer service rep in a foreign land that can barely speak English, much less explain why your interest rate is rising. So when you call, to find out why your interest rate has gone up or your balance limit has gone down, it can be impossible to find somebody who can tell you. Worst of all, even though you may have been a very good customer and paid every bill on time, they will make it seem as if it is your fault!

Does your credit card company care about you?

It used to be that when your interest rate went up, you could call and find a program to reduce it. Nowadays, that does not seem to work like it used to work. I cannot tell you exactly why because I could never get my credit card company to explain it to me.

Trying to pay off a credit card with a high interest rate can be an uphill battle, even though we all know that is no time to be living with a lot of unsecured debt. If you do charge a lot, you can soon come to the realization that your interest payments are far more than the payments on the original debt you ran off.

But many of us have gotten into a credit card bind, and I know getting a fair interest rates is one of the first steps we need to take in order to get them paid off.

Look for a better deal with an offer to transfer that high interest rate balance to a lower interest rate. Many companies will even offer you a 0% balance transfer!

I do see a lot of offers for 0% interest on balance transfers these days. You usually do need to have decent credit to obtain them though. If you know your credit score, it must be in the high 600's or above. But you can find companies that want your business so much that they will offer you a great deal. You can transfer your old balance to their new card, and in the meantime, you will not have to pay interest on that old balance. That should really help you get those cards paid off.