While credit debt is often necessary it is always nice to find a way to lower the interest rates for that credit.  There are a number of things that can be done to lower a credit card interest rate.  Most are straight forward tips that will first raise the consumer’s credit rating which will allow him or her to receive a lower interest rate.

The first thing that must be done to lower the interest rates being offered to a customer is for that customer to pay existing debts on time.  Many lending institutions will mark a payment as delinquent even if the payment is only a day or two late.  Because of this, it is very important that all bills are paid on time.  Due to the unpredictability of the postal service it is best to aim to have all payments to their destinations a few days before the actual due date.  This guarantees that the bill will be paid on time, which will help improve your credit rating.

The next step is to lower the debt to income ratio.  This is the equation lenders look at to determine if the amount of income is adequate to cover the amount of available credit a person has.  If a consumer has a large amount of available credit it is always possible that he or she will use that credit.  This makes it look like that particular consumer is a slightly higher risk than someone with a lower debt to income ratio.  It is advisable to reduce the amount of available credit one has if it isn’t likely it will be needed.  If there are credit card accounts that are rarely or never used they can be closed altogether.

If all of these steps have been followed it is time to request a credit report.  Make sure there are no errors on the credit report.  Clerical errors on the part of billing companies can inadvertently lower your credit score making it more difficult to obtain lower interest rates.  If there are any errors contact the lender and resolve the issue as soon as possible.  If the credit report is satisfactory, it is time to do a bit of research.

Once good credit habits have been established, go to several of the largest credit card companies and see what their promotional interest rate is.  Get the details for all of the best offers that are currently available and make a list.  Once these numbers have been gathered, it is time to call your current lenders.  Present them with the information that has been collected and request they meet the interest rates currently being offered by their competitors.  Often, they will not only meet the lower interest rate, but if requested, will make their interest rate even lower to persuade their current customers to stay with them.  If the person that initially answers the call is unwilling or unable to offer a lower interest rate ask to speak to a supervisor who should have the authority to do so.