Do you negotiate with your credit-card company? Maybe you should.
Women were far less likely than men to ask their credit-card issuer for more leniency or better terms on paying late fees or interest rates, according to a new survey of more than 1,200 people conducted by personal finance website CompareCards
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Despite that, women who did ask their credit-card companies for a break were just as successful as men in securing whatever their required changes to the card’s terms.
Here’s some of the other takeaways from the survey:
• 25% of male card holders had asked for a lower APR in the past year versus 16% of women.
• 34% of male cardholders had asked for a higher credit limit in the past year vs. 23% of women.
• Among cardholders who had previously incurred a late fee, 55% of men had asked for a late fee waiver in the past year versus 43% of women.
• Among cardholders with an annual fee card, 39% of men had asked to have an annual fee waived or reduced in the past year versus 22% of women.
• 70% of women said they have never asked for a lower APR versus 59% of men.
‘People have way more power with their credit card company than they realize. They just have to be willing to wield it.’
Overall, all consumers may be too hesitant when it comes to asking their card issuers for better terms or waived fees. Only 1 in 5 card holders asked to reduce the annual percentage rate they are charged — but 81% of those who did were successful.
Additionally, only 48% of people who incurred a late fee asked to have it waived. Smaller shares of card holders asked for higher credit limits (28% of card holders) or reduced annual fees (24%). Once again, the vast majority of consumers who asked for these changes were granted them.
“People have way more power with their credit card company than they realize,” said Matt Schulz, industry analyst with CompareCards. “They just have to be willing to wield it.”
A lack of education could be costing consumers serious money
The main factor behind why more consumers aren’t requesting better terms from their credit-card companies is a lack of awareness, Schulz said. Simply put: Many consumers don’t even realize they can ask these questions.
By not doing so, they’re wasting money. Consumers were granted an average APR reduction of 6 percentage points, CompareCards found. For a consumer with a $5,000 balance on a credit card with an APR of 24%, lowering their interest rate to 18% would save them over $450 in interest. It would also make it possible to pay their credit card off more quickly.
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Women, in particular, stand to benefit from asking for better terms. Research shows that women are more likely than men to carry a credit-card balance.
But consumers shouldn’t necessarily go in blind when requesting these changes. For instance, card holders shouldn’t just throw mailers offering them new credit cards in the trash. Instead, they should see if the APR on offer is lower than the one on their current card. If it is, it’s worth bringing up to their current card issuer to see if the company will match it.
And consumers are more likely to catch flies with sugar. “If you’re calling to get a late fee waived, it probably won’t take more than picking up the phone and asking nicely,” Schulz said.
Source : MTV
