Asking bank to reduce APR instead of increasing credit limit





.everyoneloves__top-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__mid-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__bot-mid-leaderboard:empty{
margin-bottom:0;
}








24

















My credit card just notified me that they raised my credit limit (unsolicited). This would do well to my utilization and thus improve my credit scores overall. However, my overall utilization across all credit lines is already less than 10% (with most of them being very low (near 0, so these are paid off always) and only 2 of them being 25% and 70% and I'm working to pay them off within 4 months).



These latter 2 are anyway at 0% APR for that duration and so I am confident of paying them off by then. Given that a credit raise is a sign of the bank having an increased confidence in me could I call them and bargain for an extension of 0% APR or very low value in lieu of the recent credit raise?






credit-card credit-score credit credit-limit







share|improve this question
























  • 5





    That's good to hear. So what's the benefit to you of them lowering your APR instead of raising your CL?

    – RonJohn
    May 28 at 4:16











  • One of the reasons I pay those cards in time is because they have high APRs (good rewards too, in specific categories like food, travel) but the card in question has 0% APR for 15 months, the end of which is coming in 3 months. I use this card for non-category spending groceries, hospital payments, etc. I could continue to use this one as a default knowing I could spread the payments without worrying about carrying balances. Does that make sense?

    – perennial_noob
    May 28 at 4:25








  • 24





    It makes sense, but worries me that you expect to regularly carry a balance.

    – RonJohn
    May 28 at 4:35


















24

















My credit card just notified me that they raised my credit limit (unsolicited). This would do well to my utilization and thus improve my credit scores overall. However, my overall utilization across all credit lines is already less than 10% (with most of them being very low (near 0, so these are paid off always) and only 2 of them being 25% and 70% and I'm working to pay them off within 4 months).



These latter 2 are anyway at 0% APR for that duration and so I am confident of paying them off by then. Given that a credit raise is a sign of the bank having an increased confidence in me could I call them and bargain for an extension of 0% APR or very low value in lieu of the recent credit raise?






credit-card credit-score credit credit-limit







share|improve this question
























  • 5





    That's good to hear. So what's the benefit to you of them lowering your APR instead of raising your CL?

    – RonJohn
    May 28 at 4:16











  • One of the reasons I pay those cards in time is because they have high APRs (good rewards too, in specific categories like food, travel) but the card in question has 0% APR for 15 months, the end of which is coming in 3 months. I use this card for non-category spending groceries, hospital payments, etc. I could continue to use this one as a default knowing I could spread the payments without worrying about carrying balances. Does that make sense?

    – perennial_noob
    May 28 at 4:25








  • 24





    It makes sense, but worries me that you expect to regularly carry a balance.

    – RonJohn
    May 28 at 4:35














24












24








24


1






My credit card just notified me that they raised my credit limit (unsolicited). This would do well to my utilization and thus improve my credit scores overall. However, my overall utilization across all credit lines is already less than 10% (with most of them being very low (near 0, so these are paid off always) and only 2 of them being 25% and 70% and I'm working to pay them off within 4 months).



These latter 2 are anyway at 0% APR for that duration and so I am confident of paying them off by then. Given that a credit raise is a sign of the bank having an increased confidence in me could I call them and bargain for an extension of 0% APR or very low value in lieu of the recent credit raise?






credit-card credit-score credit credit-limit







share|improve this question
















My credit card just notified me that they raised my credit limit (unsolicited). This would do well to my utilization and thus improve my credit scores overall. However, my overall utilization across all credit lines is already less than 10% (with most of them being very low (near 0, so these are paid off always) and only 2 of them being 25% and 70% and I'm working to pay them off within 4 months).



These latter 2 are anyway at 0% APR for that duration and so I am confident of paying them off by then. Given that a credit raise is a sign of the bank having an increased confidence in me could I call them and bargain for an extension of 0% APR or very low value in lieu of the recent credit raise?






credit-card credit-score credit credit-limit




credit-card credit-score credit credit-limit






share|improve this question















share|improve this question













share|improve this question




share|improve this question



share|improve this question








edited May 28 at 4:14







perennial_noob

















asked May 28 at 1:59









perennial_noobperennial_noob

1,2162 gold badges7 silver badges29 bronze badges




1,2162 gold badges7 silver badges29 bronze badges











  • 5





    That's good to hear. So what's the benefit to you of them lowering your APR instead of raising your CL?

    – RonJohn
    May 28 at 4:16











  • One of the reasons I pay those cards in time is because they have high APRs (good rewards too, in specific categories like food, travel) but the card in question has 0% APR for 15 months, the end of which is coming in 3 months. I use this card for non-category spending groceries, hospital payments, etc. I could continue to use this one as a default knowing I could spread the payments without worrying about carrying balances. Does that make sense?

    – perennial_noob
    May 28 at 4:25








  • 24





    It makes sense, but worries me that you expect to regularly carry a balance.

    – RonJohn
    May 28 at 4:35














  • 5





    That's good to hear. So what's the benefit to you of them lowering your APR instead of raising your CL?

    – RonJohn
    May 28 at 4:16











  • One of the reasons I pay those cards in time is because they have high APRs (good rewards too, in specific categories like food, travel) but the card in question has 0% APR for 15 months, the end of which is coming in 3 months. I use this card for non-category spending groceries, hospital payments, etc. I could continue to use this one as a default knowing I could spread the payments without worrying about carrying balances. Does that make sense?

    – perennial_noob
    May 28 at 4:25








  • 24





    It makes sense, but worries me that you expect to regularly carry a balance.

    – RonJohn
    May 28 at 4:35








5




5





That's good to hear. So what's the benefit to you of them lowering your APR instead of raising your CL?

– RonJohn
May 28 at 4:16





That's good to hear. So what's the benefit to you of them lowering your APR instead of raising your CL?

– RonJohn
May 28 at 4:16













One of the reasons I pay those cards in time is because they have high APRs (good rewards too, in specific categories like food, travel) but the card in question has 0% APR for 15 months, the end of which is coming in 3 months. I use this card for non-category spending groceries, hospital payments, etc. I could continue to use this one as a default knowing I could spread the payments without worrying about carrying balances. Does that make sense?

– perennial_noob
May 28 at 4:25







One of the reasons I pay those cards in time is because they have high APRs (good rewards too, in specific categories like food, travel) but the card in question has 0% APR for 15 months, the end of which is coming in 3 months. I use this card for non-category spending groceries, hospital payments, etc. I could continue to use this one as a default knowing I could spread the payments without worrying about carrying balances. Does that make sense?

– perennial_noob
May 28 at 4:25






24




24





It makes sense, but worries me that you expect to regularly carry a balance.

– RonJohn
May 28 at 4:35





It makes sense, but worries me that you expect to regularly carry a balance.

– RonJohn
May 28 at 4:35










8 Answers
8






active

oldest

votes


















12


















I've written a number of answers to this effect but my philosophy is just call and ask. Always be nice, but just ask. The worst possible outcome is no change.



You can rationalize your way to any outcome. No, they won't lower this because this stream of logic. Yes, you can do this because of this stream of logic. You never carry a balance so the interest rate doesn't matter? So what, ask for a lower one. The call will take 10 mins.



Lending is a business of generating revenue and managing risk. You don't know what strategy the bank's underwriters are operating under until you call and ask.



Just in March I had to make a $3,000 purchase. I called my credit cards and told them the situation, one offered me 0% on purchases for the next 6 months. Now I can leave the cash in a savings account for 5 months, because you need to make sure you absolutely do not pay the interest, and make a little interest. Sure, there isn't much to gain, but why not try?



One word of caution, be aware that credit line increases may require a credit pull when you're the one who initiates the request.



But otherwise, your credit card bank called you because of some potential fraud, ask them to lower your rate. You lose nothing.






share|improve this answer






















  • 2





    It's really odd how overlooked this is. Procurement at my workplace has just started asking a certain percentage of vendors each month "Can you do better on the price for this?" and they've saved us tens of thousands of dollars. They won't do it for every bid as that will cause vendors to inflate the starting price but asking for a discount on a couple per year has worked wonders.

    – Myles
    May 30 at 20:51











  • @Myles - not sure I follow. Are you talking about a way that credit card company could save on their expenses? By asking merchants to give a higher percentage of the sale?

    – perennial_noob
    May 30 at 22:12






  • 1





    @perennial_noob No about people in general. Asking for something better is something that a lot of people just don't think of. I remember working at an inbound call center for ATT wireless. Customers who didn't ask for anything typically just kept on with the status quo, customers who asked to reduce their monthly expenses usually got a deal, those that did it politely usually got a hell of a deal. So for the OP, call them up and ask for a better rate because the worst that will happen is they say no.

    – Myles
    May 30 at 22:21











  • @quid - given 2 perspectives (mainly a counter perspective but an important one) and a general advice to try because one doesn't know what exactly the bank is looking for at that time, I'd like to mark this as my accepted answer. For completeness and for the sake of posterity would you be able to post an edit to move your comment into the response?

    – perennial_noob
    Jun 1 at 16:48



















142


















The offer of an increased credit limit may be a sign of increased confidence. However from a bank's point of view it is an attempt to get you to spend more and thus make more money from you. Decreasing your APR however will result in them making less money from you. There is no equivalence.






share|improve this answer






















  • 8





    This is a great answer because it hints at the subtlety of how banks market and strategize around credit card loans. Ultimately they want you to carry a balance (so they can make money off interest) and have a high transaction rate (so they can make money off interchange). And of course they want to balance that against setting the interest rate against the risk on the loan, which is unsecured. There are a lot more moving pieces than other types of loans.

    – dwizum
    May 28 at 18:56






  • 4





    This. I used a credit card for years paying off the balance in full every month. Following some unexpected events, I decided to run up to near the credit limit and pay it off over the next 3 or 4 months, rather than disturbing other long-term investments for cash. Guess what - the card issuer gave me an unrequested doubling of the credit limit, after there was an increasing balance remaining unpaid at the end of successive months!

    – alephzero
    May 28 at 20:57






  • 2





    @quid (in his comment in one of the recent responses) brings up a good counter point. The credit card company not only makes money on interest on unpaid balances but also on fees charged to merchants on every swipe. In fact this may be a better strategy for the company to make money off a customer who always pays off all balances in full. By keeping the APR low, they're enticing the customer to use that card more and get more transactions.

    – perennial_noob
    May 28 at 21:24






  • 1





    You could just as easily say that from the banks point of view, it represents an opportunity to renegotiate terms to prevent a proven customer from taking their money elsewhere.

    – John K
    May 28 at 21:29








  • 2





    I'm not sure I follow how you get that decreasing the APR will result in them making less money. If he has no balance riding, then the decreased APR will have no effect other than making causing him to charge more and thus they make more money on the 2% they get on sales. If he has a balance riding, a lowered APR will encourage him to keep more of a balance riding and thus they may or may not make more depending on whether the increased balance outweighs the lower rate. It's not at all clear that a reduced APR means they'll make less.

    – David Schwartz
    May 30 at 20:35



















15


















You are misunderstanding utilization. You do not need to carry a balance past the due date to create utilization, in general carrying a balance past the due date is not a good idea. The best practice is to always pay off each month's balance when you receive your statement. (I'm sure there's some tiny exception in there somewhere, but for normal people--just pay the full balance on your credit card every month! No need to complicate it.)



Say you have a $100 credit limit (picked for easy math, not realism) and your statement date is the 1st of the month, with the payment due date being the 15th.



During January you spend $20 with that card.



Your statement comes Feb 1st saying your balance is $20 and you pay it immediately.



Your utilization for January would be 20%, but your interest paid would be $0 because you did not carry any balance past the payment due date.



You can always call your bank and try to bargain about anything, but given that you are close to paying off your cards it may be more practical to see if you can raise funds another way to just pay them off. (For example, yard sale, do an odd job or two around your neighborhood, try to really live on an extreme budget for a month, etc.)






share|improve this answer
























  • 36





    So much this. If you're carrying a balance, you're using credit cards wrong. You should not care what the APR of your credit card is because you should never pay any interest. If you're paying interest, stop using credit cards right away. I have like 6 credit cards, and I have no idea what their APRs are. Because I pay them off in full every month. You should do the same.

    – only_pro
    May 28 at 15:50








  • 3





    @perennial_noob In that case I agree with DJClayworth's answer and dwizum's comment that they are just unlikely to extend the zero/low APR (it would be loaning you money indefinitely for free, which banks just hate doing). The zero APR is there to sucker you into carrying a balance.

    – user3067860
    May 28 at 20:37






  • 2





    @UKMonkey Citation please. Because that is not how credit score works, as thoroughly documented many, many places on the internet.

    – user3067860
    May 29 at 14:39






  • 3





    @UKMonkey You also don't need to carry any of that across the payment due date for it to count. If you get your statement and immediately pay it, it still counts for utilization. So no need to pay interest. (It is a common misunderstanding.)

    – user3067860
    May 29 at 15:50








  • 1





    @user3067860 - "The zero APR is there to sucker you into carrying a balance." Kinda true - it's really there as a marketing, customer generation/retention trick. Banks are OK with you carrying a zero balance, as long as you're generating transactions (and hence interchange). In many ways, interchange income is "better" for the FI because it's essentially risk-free, vs interest income from you carrying a balance (especially on something unsecured and volatile like a credit card) brings along the need to offset risk, reserve requirements, and hence is a costlier source of income.

    – dwizum
    May 29 at 17:24



















3


















In addition to DJClayworth's answer there are very few (truly) 0% finance offers. Most have a fee of around 5%. In the case of a 12 month 0% finance offer that is paid off prior to the period expiring, the borrower ends up paying about 7.5% interest, not exactly cheap and certainly not free.



You may be able to get another 0% interest rate period, but your goal should be to not pay CC interests ever again. Those 0% deals are not healthy for your long term financial well being.






share|improve this answer






















  • 6





    This is very country-dependent. In the UK, for instance, there are at least six major banks currently offering a fixed term at 0% with no fee. The Bank of England base rate is currently sitting at less than a third of the US federal funds rate, so institutions are competing for low-risk borrowers with genuinely free debt for the chance of getting their high-interest business further down the line.

    – Will
    May 28 at 13:48






  • 3





    Pete, I'm confused by the "borrower ends up paying about 7.5% interest" statement. How is that so?

    – Roijan Eskor
    May 28 at 15:59






  • 1





    @RoijanEskor 5% upfront, on the entire balance works out to about 7.5% if paid off in the year, It is actually more, but close enough for discussion.

    – Pete B.
    May 28 at 16:42











  • @Pete B: Doesn't that depend on how you pay it off? If it's equal payments, 7.5% seems close. (But I'm too lazy to do the actual math :-)) But if you make the minimum payments through the year, then pay off the remaining sum at the end, it's much closer to 5%.

    – jamesqf
    May 28 at 17:45






  • 1





    @briantist - in my case it is a card that is on 0% purchase APR (soon to expire) and so it will be an extension to 0% purchase APR for potentially 6 months to 1 year.

    – perennial_noob
    May 30 at 22:14



















3


















Banks compete on APR, less so on credit limits. That is, a bank might be willing to give you a lower APR to keep you from going to another bank, but it's less likely they'll give you a higher credit limit to do so. If they think you're a good credit risk, then they'll want to increase your limit so that you'll borrow more, regardless of whether you have other offers. And if they don't think you're a good credit risk, then they aren't going to increase your credit limit, because they don't want your additional business (that is, they don't want you to borrow more money from them). The credit limit is based on how much they think you can repay, not how much they think they need to offer you to keep you from going elsewhere.



So the idea of "bargaining" between APR and credit limit has limited validity. You're looking at it from your point of view: you're offering to give up something in exchange for you getting something. But you need to look at it from theirs: you're asking them to give up something they want (you being able to borrow more from them) in exchange for them giving up something they want (APR). That doesn't make any sense. It's a bit like if you were pushing for more overtime, and your boss came back to you with "I see you'd like to work more overtime. What if instead we paid you a lower hourly wage?"



That being said, asking for a lower APR by itself is a reasonable thing to do. It's not guaranteed to be successful, but it's worth a try. And if that doesn't work, you can also look for new cards that will offer a lower, or zero, APR.






share|improve this answer






















  • 1





    But, if your first sentence is right, then the bank should be willing to aggressively lower the APR, because that will help them compete for the OP's business --- especially since they've already demonstrated their faith by increasing the credit limit. Maybe they'd be willing to do both.

    – jpaugh
    May 31 at 17:59











  • Yeah, that seems like how quid said in their response. It is looking agreeable that there are multiple levers to consider and multiple ways of earning for the banks.

    – perennial_noob
    May 31 at 22:14



















2


















A point that hasn't been made yet is that "0% on new purchases" offers are a customer acquisition strategy. In my experience (US), they're not used for customer retention.



More common for retention are "0% balance transfers" offers, which as noted in Pete B's answer aren't truly free.






share|improve this answer






















  • 2





    I've gotten 0% on new purchases offers from existing cards on many occasions. The idea is to capture the spending, the credit card company makes money when you spend as well as from interest. When you're a long term customer they'll offer a 0% on spending offer in order to get you to change which card you're using or maybe use that card for a single large purchase; they want to at least make the fee even if they know you don't pay interest.

    – quid
    May 28 at 21:02











  • @quid - see that's a valid point. If the banks want to retain someone (even an avg long standing customer but not super rich) they might benefit from 0% Apr offer too.

    – perennial_noob
    May 28 at 21:15











  • Should i edit the answer to say it’s inaccurate, but leave it up for posterity, or delete it?

    – thehole
    May 28 at 21:22











  • @thehole, you may want to just expand. It's definitely more of a customer acquisition strategy, but for the "pay off the card every month crowd" it's a "please use our card that you leave in that shoebox to buy that couch" strategy.

    – quid
    May 28 at 21:24











  • How come you didn't present this counter point on the most voted answer currently? I credit you there in a comment @quid

    – perennial_noob
    May 28 at 21:25



















2


















Sure, you can ASK. Frankly I doubt they'll say yes, but what does it cost you to ask? A little bit of your time, maybe a few cents on your phone bill if you have a pay-by-the-minute plan. :-)






share|improve this answer



























  • it is beyond the expenditure of a few cents. You're right in that there is no harm in asking. However, could there be a folly in requesting a lower APR in lieu of increased limit? Perhaps credit utilization and scores is one ramification to consider.

    – perennial_noob
    May 29 at 3:58











  • @perennial_noob In that sense, you'd have to compare the benefits of a higher credit score resulting from lower credit utilization, to smaller payments resulting from the lower interest. A better credit score means lenders will be willing to loan you more money. If your credit limit is already adequate for your needs, this doesn't do you much good. A better credit score can also result in getting lower interest rates. Whether these would be better than the rate the bank would give you in this hypothetical situation ... who knows?

    – Jay
    May 29 at 13:57











  • Further thought: If you're carrying a balance -- as the OP says he is -- reducing the interest rate is a clear benefit: you'll pay less in interest every month. The benefits of a higher credit score are more ambiguous.

    – Jay
    May 29 at 16:22











  • I'll have paid off the balance by the promotion expiry. But you're right and I could use it to even out payments for the months/year following the expiry of the promotion.

    – perennial_noob
    May 31 at 23:55



















1


















I don't think the bank would agree to reduce your APR. Increasing your limit is much more profitable from their perspective.



If you have a high limit, that creates the possibility that you will borrow more money, which creates the possibility that you won't be able to pay it off, which means you would pay interest in proportion to your credit - this is where the bank makes money, after all. Even if you feel that you can pay it off easily, you can always get hit with a sudden emergency.



For many people, a higher limit also has a psychological effect in that they feel like they have more money "on hand", so they allocate more of their budget to spending.



That said, you should still ask for a lower APR - they might agree due to their own customer retention policy. But it won't necessarily be because your limit went up.



As you say, having more credit increases your score. However, it doesn't increase it that much and credit score doesn't matter that much anyway (I can link questions on here if you're curious). The main effect of the credit score is that if it's really low (as in, a history of delinquency on major loans such as car or house), the bank will either refuse to give you a credit card or demand exorbitant APRs (25%+). But really high scores don't translate into better APR. Mediocre score will get you about 16%, good score will get you 12%. If you have a unique situation (qualifying for a very "high wealth" card like the fancier AmEx cards) then you can get maybe 10%, but I doubt you can get an ordinary credit card with less APR than that. And 10% is still a lot to be borrowing for anything other than emergencies, really. However, by signing up for new cards, you could conceivably get APR 1-2% less than whatever you currently have.



You have a 0% card, which is great! Keep using it as much as you can. It is in your interest as a consumer to borrow as much as possible on the 0% APR (provided you can ensure that you will be able to pay it off) and then move to a different 0% APR card once your current introductory period is over.






share|improve this answer






















  • 1





    "It is in your interest as a consumer to borrow as much as possible on the 0% APR (provided you can ensure that you will be able to pay it off)" Every credit card I've seen has a 0% APR if you just pay the bill in full on or before the due date every single time. So given that "you can ensure that you will be able to pay it off", any credit card will effectively have a 0% APR.

    – a CVn
    May 30 at 12:01











  • @aCVn - of course there is that. But the difference is that with an actual 0% APR you do get to carry balances which may be useful for individuals who have had unexpected expenditures on them and getting a personal loan is definitely more expensive.

    – perennial_noob
    May 30 at 21:46











  • @perennial_noob True. However, that does not mean that it's in your best interest to borrow money simply because you can. I would say it's in my best interest to have 0% APR available; but unless I'm somehow making (or saving) money by carrying a balance, it's not worth it to actually do so.

    – jpaugh
    May 31 at 18:04











  • @jpaugh - no that's not the focus of the discussion. You're right and that's basic personal finance to not spend more than you have. The point has been that there have been sudden unexpected expenses put in and extending the zero percent gives more buffer time to spread such expenses over a few months (versus paying the next month in full).

    – perennial_noob
    May 31 at 21:01











protected by JoeTaxpayer♦ May 29 at 4:09



Thank you for your interest in this question.
Because it has attracted low-quality or spam answers that had to be removed, posting an answer now requires 10 reputation on this site (the association bonus does not count).



Would you like to answer one of these unanswered questions instead?














8 Answers
8






active

oldest

votes








8 Answers
8






active

oldest

votes









active

oldest

votes






active

oldest

votes









12


















I've written a number of answers to this effect but my philosophy is just call and ask. Always be nice, but just ask. The worst possible outcome is no change.



You can rationalize your way to any outcome. No, they won't lower this because this stream of logic. Yes, you can do this because of this stream of logic. You never carry a balance so the interest rate doesn't matter? So what, ask for a lower one. The call will take 10 mins.



Lending is a business of generating revenue and managing risk. You don't know what strategy the bank's underwriters are operating under until you call and ask.



Just in March I had to make a $3,000 purchase. I called my credit cards and told them the situation, one offered me 0% on purchases for the next 6 months. Now I can leave the cash in a savings account for 5 months, because you need to make sure you absolutely do not pay the interest, and make a little interest. Sure, there isn't much to gain, but why not try?



One word of caution, be aware that credit line increases may require a credit pull when you're the one who initiates the request.



But otherwise, your credit card bank called you because of some potential fraud, ask them to lower your rate. You lose nothing.






share|improve this answer






















  • 2





    It's really odd how overlooked this is. Procurement at my workplace has just started asking a certain percentage of vendors each month "Can you do better on the price for this?" and they've saved us tens of thousands of dollars. They won't do it for every bid as that will cause vendors to inflate the starting price but asking for a discount on a couple per year has worked wonders.

    – Myles
    May 30 at 20:51











  • @Myles - not sure I follow. Are you talking about a way that credit card company could save on their expenses? By asking merchants to give a higher percentage of the sale?

    – perennial_noob
    May 30 at 22:12






  • 1





    @perennial_noob No about people in general. Asking for something better is something that a lot of people just don't think of. I remember working at an inbound call center for ATT wireless. Customers who didn't ask for anything typically just kept on with the status quo, customers who asked to reduce their monthly expenses usually got a deal, those that did it politely usually got a hell of a deal. So for the OP, call them up and ask for a better rate because the worst that will happen is they say no.

    – Myles
    May 30 at 22:21











  • @quid - given 2 perspectives (mainly a counter perspective but an important one) and a general advice to try because one doesn't know what exactly the bank is looking for at that time, I'd like to mark this as my accepted answer. For completeness and for the sake of posterity would you be able to post an edit to move your comment into the response?

    – perennial_noob
    Jun 1 at 16:48
















12


















I've written a number of answers to this effect but my philosophy is just call and ask. Always be nice, but just ask. The worst possible outcome is no change.



You can rationalize your way to any outcome. No, they won't lower this because this stream of logic. Yes, you can do this because of this stream of logic. You never carry a balance so the interest rate doesn't matter? So what, ask for a lower one. The call will take 10 mins.



Lending is a business of generating revenue and managing risk. You don't know what strategy the bank's underwriters are operating under until you call and ask.



Just in March I had to make a $3,000 purchase. I called my credit cards and told them the situation, one offered me 0% on purchases for the next 6 months. Now I can leave the cash in a savings account for 5 months, because you need to make sure you absolutely do not pay the interest, and make a little interest. Sure, there isn't much to gain, but why not try?



One word of caution, be aware that credit line increases may require a credit pull when you're the one who initiates the request.



But otherwise, your credit card bank called you because of some potential fraud, ask them to lower your rate. You lose nothing.






share|improve this answer






















  • 2





    It's really odd how overlooked this is. Procurement at my workplace has just started asking a certain percentage of vendors each month "Can you do better on the price for this?" and they've saved us tens of thousands of dollars. They won't do it for every bid as that will cause vendors to inflate the starting price but asking for a discount on a couple per year has worked wonders.

    – Myles
    May 30 at 20:51











  • @Myles - not sure I follow. Are you talking about a way that credit card company could save on their expenses? By asking merchants to give a higher percentage of the sale?

    – perennial_noob
    May 30 at 22:12






  • 1





    @perennial_noob No about people in general. Asking for something better is something that a lot of people just don't think of. I remember working at an inbound call center for ATT wireless. Customers who didn't ask for anything typically just kept on with the status quo, customers who asked to reduce their monthly expenses usually got a deal, those that did it politely usually got a hell of a deal. So for the OP, call them up and ask for a better rate because the worst that will happen is they say no.

    – Myles
    May 30 at 22:21











  • @quid - given 2 perspectives (mainly a counter perspective but an important one) and a general advice to try because one doesn't know what exactly the bank is looking for at that time, I'd like to mark this as my accepted answer. For completeness and for the sake of posterity would you be able to post an edit to move your comment into the response?

    – perennial_noob
    Jun 1 at 16:48














12














12










12









I've written a number of answers to this effect but my philosophy is just call and ask. Always be nice, but just ask. The worst possible outcome is no change.



You can rationalize your way to any outcome. No, they won't lower this because this stream of logic. Yes, you can do this because of this stream of logic. You never carry a balance so the interest rate doesn't matter? So what, ask for a lower one. The call will take 10 mins.



Lending is a business of generating revenue and managing risk. You don't know what strategy the bank's underwriters are operating under until you call and ask.



Just in March I had to make a $3,000 purchase. I called my credit cards and told them the situation, one offered me 0% on purchases for the next 6 months. Now I can leave the cash in a savings account for 5 months, because you need to make sure you absolutely do not pay the interest, and make a little interest. Sure, there isn't much to gain, but why not try?



One word of caution, be aware that credit line increases may require a credit pull when you're the one who initiates the request.



But otherwise, your credit card bank called you because of some potential fraud, ask them to lower your rate. You lose nothing.






share|improve this answer














I've written a number of answers to this effect but my philosophy is just call and ask. Always be nice, but just ask. The worst possible outcome is no change.



You can rationalize your way to any outcome. No, they won't lower this because this stream of logic. Yes, you can do this because of this stream of logic. You never carry a balance so the interest rate doesn't matter? So what, ask for a lower one. The call will take 10 mins.



Lending is a business of generating revenue and managing risk. You don't know what strategy the bank's underwriters are operating under until you call and ask.



Just in March I had to make a $3,000 purchase. I called my credit cards and told them the situation, one offered me 0% on purchases for the next 6 months. Now I can leave the cash in a savings account for 5 months, because you need to make sure you absolutely do not pay the interest, and make a little interest. Sure, there isn't much to gain, but why not try?



One word of caution, be aware that credit line increases may require a credit pull when you're the one who initiates the request.



But otherwise, your credit card bank called you because of some potential fraud, ask them to lower your rate. You lose nothing.







share|improve this answer













share|improve this answer




share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer










answered May 28 at 21:36









quidquid

43.9k9 gold badges86 silver badges141 bronze badges




43.9k9 gold badges86 silver badges141 bronze badges











  • 2





    It's really odd how overlooked this is. Procurement at my workplace has just started asking a certain percentage of vendors each month "Can you do better on the price for this?" and they've saved us tens of thousands of dollars. They won't do it for every bid as that will cause vendors to inflate the starting price but asking for a discount on a couple per year has worked wonders.

    – Myles
    May 30 at 20:51











  • @Myles - not sure I follow. Are you talking about a way that credit card company could save on their expenses? By asking merchants to give a higher percentage of the sale?

    – perennial_noob
    May 30 at 22:12






  • 1





    @perennial_noob No about people in general. Asking for something better is something that a lot of people just don't think of. I remember working at an inbound call center for ATT wireless. Customers who didn't ask for anything typically just kept on with the status quo, customers who asked to reduce their monthly expenses usually got a deal, those that did it politely usually got a hell of a deal. So for the OP, call them up and ask for a better rate because the worst that will happen is they say no.

    – Myles
    May 30 at 22:21











  • @quid - given 2 perspectives (mainly a counter perspective but an important one) and a general advice to try because one doesn't know what exactly the bank is looking for at that time, I'd like to mark this as my accepted answer. For completeness and for the sake of posterity would you be able to post an edit to move your comment into the response?

    – perennial_noob
    Jun 1 at 16:48














  • 2





    It's really odd how overlooked this is. Procurement at my workplace has just started asking a certain percentage of vendors each month "Can you do better on the price for this?" and they've saved us tens of thousands of dollars. They won't do it for every bid as that will cause vendors to inflate the starting price but asking for a discount on a couple per year has worked wonders.

    – Myles
    May 30 at 20:51











  • @Myles - not sure I follow. Are you talking about a way that credit card company could save on their expenses? By asking merchants to give a higher percentage of the sale?

    – perennial_noob
    May 30 at 22:12






  • 1





    @perennial_noob No about people in general. Asking for something better is something that a lot of people just don't think of. I remember working at an inbound call center for ATT wireless. Customers who didn't ask for anything typically just kept on with the status quo, customers who asked to reduce their monthly expenses usually got a deal, those that did it politely usually got a hell of a deal. So for the OP, call them up and ask for a better rate because the worst that will happen is they say no.

    – Myles
    May 30 at 22:21











  • @quid - given 2 perspectives (mainly a counter perspective but an important one) and a general advice to try because one doesn't know what exactly the bank is looking for at that time, I'd like to mark this as my accepted answer. For completeness and for the sake of posterity would you be able to post an edit to move your comment into the response?

    – perennial_noob
    Jun 1 at 16:48








2




2





It's really odd how overlooked this is. Procurement at my workplace has just started asking a certain percentage of vendors each month "Can you do better on the price for this?" and they've saved us tens of thousands of dollars. They won't do it for every bid as that will cause vendors to inflate the starting price but asking for a discount on a couple per year has worked wonders.

– Myles
May 30 at 20:51





It's really odd how overlooked this is. Procurement at my workplace has just started asking a certain percentage of vendors each month "Can you do better on the price for this?" and they've saved us tens of thousands of dollars. They won't do it for every bid as that will cause vendors to inflate the starting price but asking for a discount on a couple per year has worked wonders.

– Myles
May 30 at 20:51













@Myles - not sure I follow. Are you talking about a way that credit card company could save on their expenses? By asking merchants to give a higher percentage of the sale?

– perennial_noob
May 30 at 22:12





@Myles - not sure I follow. Are you talking about a way that credit card company could save on their expenses? By asking merchants to give a higher percentage of the sale?

– perennial_noob
May 30 at 22:12




1




1





@perennial_noob No about people in general. Asking for something better is something that a lot of people just don't think of. I remember working at an inbound call center for ATT wireless. Customers who didn't ask for anything typically just kept on with the status quo, customers who asked to reduce their monthly expenses usually got a deal, those that did it politely usually got a hell of a deal. So for the OP, call them up and ask for a better rate because the worst that will happen is they say no.

– Myles
May 30 at 22:21





@perennial_noob No about people in general. Asking for something better is something that a lot of people just don't think of. I remember working at an inbound call center for ATT wireless. Customers who didn't ask for anything typically just kept on with the status quo, customers who asked to reduce their monthly expenses usually got a deal, those that did it politely usually got a hell of a deal. So for the OP, call them up and ask for a better rate because the worst that will happen is they say no.

– Myles
May 30 at 22:21













@quid - given 2 perspectives (mainly a counter perspective but an important one) and a general advice to try because one doesn't know what exactly the bank is looking for at that time, I'd like to mark this as my accepted answer. For completeness and for the sake of posterity would you be able to post an edit to move your comment into the response?

– perennial_noob
Jun 1 at 16:48





@quid - given 2 perspectives (mainly a counter perspective but an important one) and a general advice to try because one doesn't know what exactly the bank is looking for at that time, I'd like to mark this as my accepted answer. For completeness and for the sake of posterity would you be able to post an edit to move your comment into the response?

– perennial_noob
Jun 1 at 16:48













142


















The offer of an increased credit limit may be a sign of increased confidence. However from a bank's point of view it is an attempt to get you to spend more and thus make more money from you. Decreasing your APR however will result in them making less money from you. There is no equivalence.






share|improve this answer






















  • 8





    This is a great answer because it hints at the subtlety of how banks market and strategize around credit card loans. Ultimately they want you to carry a balance (so they can make money off interest) and have a high transaction rate (so they can make money off interchange). And of course they want to balance that against setting the interest rate against the risk on the loan, which is unsecured. There are a lot more moving pieces than other types of loans.

    – dwizum
    May 28 at 18:56






  • 4





    This. I used a credit card for years paying off the balance in full every month. Following some unexpected events, I decided to run up to near the credit limit and pay it off over the next 3 or 4 months, rather than disturbing other long-term investments for cash. Guess what - the card issuer gave me an unrequested doubling of the credit limit, after there was an increasing balance remaining unpaid at the end of successive months!

    – alephzero
    May 28 at 20:57






  • 2





    @quid (in his comment in one of the recent responses) brings up a good counter point. The credit card company not only makes money on interest on unpaid balances but also on fees charged to merchants on every swipe. In fact this may be a better strategy for the company to make money off a customer who always pays off all balances in full. By keeping the APR low, they're enticing the customer to use that card more and get more transactions.

    – perennial_noob
    May 28 at 21:24






  • 1





    You could just as easily say that from the banks point of view, it represents an opportunity to renegotiate terms to prevent a proven customer from taking their money elsewhere.

    – John K
    May 28 at 21:29








  • 2





    I'm not sure I follow how you get that decreasing the APR will result in them making less money. If he has no balance riding, then the decreased APR will have no effect other than making causing him to charge more and thus they make more money on the 2% they get on sales. If he has a balance riding, a lowered APR will encourage him to keep more of a balance riding and thus they may or may not make more depending on whether the increased balance outweighs the lower rate. It's not at all clear that a reduced APR means they'll make less.

    – David Schwartz
    May 30 at 20:35
















142


















The offer of an increased credit limit may be a sign of increased confidence. However from a bank's point of view it is an attempt to get you to spend more and thus make more money from you. Decreasing your APR however will result in them making less money from you. There is no equivalence.






share|improve this answer






















  • 8





    This is a great answer because it hints at the subtlety of how banks market and strategize around credit card loans. Ultimately they want you to carry a balance (so they can make money off interest) and have a high transaction rate (so they can make money off interchange). And of course they want to balance that against setting the interest rate against the risk on the loan, which is unsecured. There are a lot more moving pieces than other types of loans.

    – dwizum
    May 28 at 18:56






  • 4





    This. I used a credit card for years paying off the balance in full every month. Following some unexpected events, I decided to run up to near the credit limit and pay it off over the next 3 or 4 months, rather than disturbing other long-term investments for cash. Guess what - the card issuer gave me an unrequested doubling of the credit limit, after there was an increasing balance remaining unpaid at the end of successive months!

    – alephzero
    May 28 at 20:57






  • 2





    @quid (in his comment in one of the recent responses) brings up a good counter point. The credit card company not only makes money on interest on unpaid balances but also on fees charged to merchants on every swipe. In fact this may be a better strategy for the company to make money off a customer who always pays off all balances in full. By keeping the APR low, they're enticing the customer to use that card more and get more transactions.

    – perennial_noob
    May 28 at 21:24






  • 1





    You could just as easily say that from the banks point of view, it represents an opportunity to renegotiate terms to prevent a proven customer from taking their money elsewhere.

    – John K
    May 28 at 21:29








  • 2





    I'm not sure I follow how you get that decreasing the APR will result in them making less money. If he has no balance riding, then the decreased APR will have no effect other than making causing him to charge more and thus they make more money on the 2% they get on sales. If he has a balance riding, a lowered APR will encourage him to keep more of a balance riding and thus they may or may not make more depending on whether the increased balance outweighs the lower rate. It's not at all clear that a reduced APR means they'll make less.

    – David Schwartz
    May 30 at 20:35














142














142










142









The offer of an increased credit limit may be a sign of increased confidence. However from a bank's point of view it is an attempt to get you to spend more and thus make more money from you. Decreasing your APR however will result in them making less money from you. There is no equivalence.






share|improve this answer














The offer of an increased credit limit may be a sign of increased confidence. However from a bank's point of view it is an attempt to get you to spend more and thus make more money from you. Decreasing your APR however will result in them making less money from you. There is no equivalence.







share|improve this answer













share|improve this answer




share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer










answered May 28 at 2:10









DJClayworthDJClayworth

20.7k5 gold badges64 silver badges86 bronze badges




20.7k5 gold badges64 silver badges86 bronze badges











  • 8





    This is a great answer because it hints at the subtlety of how banks market and strategize around credit card loans. Ultimately they want you to carry a balance (so they can make money off interest) and have a high transaction rate (so they can make money off interchange). And of course they want to balance that against setting the interest rate against the risk on the loan, which is unsecured. There are a lot more moving pieces than other types of loans.

    – dwizum
    May 28 at 18:56






  • 4





    This. I used a credit card for years paying off the balance in full every month. Following some unexpected events, I decided to run up to near the credit limit and pay it off over the next 3 or 4 months, rather than disturbing other long-term investments for cash. Guess what - the card issuer gave me an unrequested doubling of the credit limit, after there was an increasing balance remaining unpaid at the end of successive months!

    – alephzero
    May 28 at 20:57






  • 2





    @quid (in his comment in one of the recent responses) brings up a good counter point. The credit card company not only makes money on interest on unpaid balances but also on fees charged to merchants on every swipe. In fact this may be a better strategy for the company to make money off a customer who always pays off all balances in full. By keeping the APR low, they're enticing the customer to use that card more and get more transactions.

    – perennial_noob
    May 28 at 21:24






  • 1





    You could just as easily say that from the banks point of view, it represents an opportunity to renegotiate terms to prevent a proven customer from taking their money elsewhere.

    – John K
    May 28 at 21:29








  • 2





    I'm not sure I follow how you get that decreasing the APR will result in them making less money. If he has no balance riding, then the decreased APR will have no effect other than making causing him to charge more and thus they make more money on the 2% they get on sales. If he has a balance riding, a lowered APR will encourage him to keep more of a balance riding and thus they may or may not make more depending on whether the increased balance outweighs the lower rate. It's not at all clear that a reduced APR means they'll make less.

    – David Schwartz
    May 30 at 20:35














  • 8





    This is a great answer because it hints at the subtlety of how banks market and strategize around credit card loans. Ultimately they want you to carry a balance (so they can make money off interest) and have a high transaction rate (so they can make money off interchange). And of course they want to balance that against setting the interest rate against the risk on the loan, which is unsecured. There are a lot more moving pieces than other types of loans.

    – dwizum
    May 28 at 18:56






  • 4





    This. I used a credit card for years paying off the balance in full every month. Following some unexpected events, I decided to run up to near the credit limit and pay it off over the next 3 or 4 months, rather than disturbing other long-term investments for cash. Guess what - the card issuer gave me an unrequested doubling of the credit limit, after there was an increasing balance remaining unpaid at the end of successive months!

    – alephzero
    May 28 at 20:57






  • 2





    @quid (in his comment in one of the recent responses) brings up a good counter point. The credit card company not only makes money on interest on unpaid balances but also on fees charged to merchants on every swipe. In fact this may be a better strategy for the company to make money off a customer who always pays off all balances in full. By keeping the APR low, they're enticing the customer to use that card more and get more transactions.

    – perennial_noob
    May 28 at 21:24






  • 1





    You could just as easily say that from the banks point of view, it represents an opportunity to renegotiate terms to prevent a proven customer from taking their money elsewhere.

    – John K
    May 28 at 21:29








  • 2





    I'm not sure I follow how you get that decreasing the APR will result in them making less money. If he has no balance riding, then the decreased APR will have no effect other than making causing him to charge more and thus they make more money on the 2% they get on sales. If he has a balance riding, a lowered APR will encourage him to keep more of a balance riding and thus they may or may not make more depending on whether the increased balance outweighs the lower rate. It's not at all clear that a reduced APR means they'll make less.

    – David Schwartz
    May 30 at 20:35








8




8





This is a great answer because it hints at the subtlety of how banks market and strategize around credit card loans. Ultimately they want you to carry a balance (so they can make money off interest) and have a high transaction rate (so they can make money off interchange). And of course they want to balance that against setting the interest rate against the risk on the loan, which is unsecured. There are a lot more moving pieces than other types of loans.

– dwizum
May 28 at 18:56





This is a great answer because it hints at the subtlety of how banks market and strategize around credit card loans. Ultimately they want you to carry a balance (so they can make money off interest) and have a high transaction rate (so they can make money off interchange). And of course they want to balance that against setting the interest rate against the risk on the loan, which is unsecured. There are a lot more moving pieces than other types of loans.

– dwizum
May 28 at 18:56




4




4





This. I used a credit card for years paying off the balance in full every month. Following some unexpected events, I decided to run up to near the credit limit and pay it off over the next 3 or 4 months, rather than disturbing other long-term investments for cash. Guess what - the card issuer gave me an unrequested doubling of the credit limit, after there was an increasing balance remaining unpaid at the end of successive months!

– alephzero
May 28 at 20:57





This. I used a credit card for years paying off the balance in full every month. Following some unexpected events, I decided to run up to near the credit limit and pay it off over the next 3 or 4 months, rather than disturbing other long-term investments for cash. Guess what - the card issuer gave me an unrequested doubling of the credit limit, after there was an increasing balance remaining unpaid at the end of successive months!

– alephzero
May 28 at 20:57




2




2





@quid (in his comment in one of the recent responses) brings up a good counter point. The credit card company not only makes money on interest on unpaid balances but also on fees charged to merchants on every swipe. In fact this may be a better strategy for the company to make money off a customer who always pays off all balances in full. By keeping the APR low, they're enticing the customer to use that card more and get more transactions.

– perennial_noob
May 28 at 21:24





@quid (in his comment in one of the recent responses) brings up a good counter point. The credit card company not only makes money on interest on unpaid balances but also on fees charged to merchants on every swipe. In fact this may be a better strategy for the company to make money off a customer who always pays off all balances in full. By keeping the APR low, they're enticing the customer to use that card more and get more transactions.

– perennial_noob
May 28 at 21:24




1




1





You could just as easily say that from the banks point of view, it represents an opportunity to renegotiate terms to prevent a proven customer from taking their money elsewhere.

– John K
May 28 at 21:29







You could just as easily say that from the banks point of view, it represents an opportunity to renegotiate terms to prevent a proven customer from taking their money elsewhere.

– John K
May 28 at 21:29






2




2





I'm not sure I follow how you get that decreasing the APR will result in them making less money. If he has no balance riding, then the decreased APR will have no effect other than making causing him to charge more and thus they make more money on the 2% they get on sales. If he has a balance riding, a lowered APR will encourage him to keep more of a balance riding and thus they may or may not make more depending on whether the increased balance outweighs the lower rate. It's not at all clear that a reduced APR means they'll make less.

– David Schwartz
May 30 at 20:35





I'm not sure I follow how you get that decreasing the APR will result in them making less money. If he has no balance riding, then the decreased APR will have no effect other than making causing him to charge more and thus they make more money on the 2% they get on sales. If he has a balance riding, a lowered APR will encourage him to keep more of a balance riding and thus they may or may not make more depending on whether the increased balance outweighs the lower rate. It's not at all clear that a reduced APR means they'll make less.

– David Schwartz
May 30 at 20:35











15


















You are misunderstanding utilization. You do not need to carry a balance past the due date to create utilization, in general carrying a balance past the due date is not a good idea. The best practice is to always pay off each month's balance when you receive your statement. (I'm sure there's some tiny exception in there somewhere, but for normal people--just pay the full balance on your credit card every month! No need to complicate it.)



Say you have a $100 credit limit (picked for easy math, not realism) and your statement date is the 1st of the month, with the payment due date being the 15th.



During January you spend $20 with that card.



Your statement comes Feb 1st saying your balance is $20 and you pay it immediately.



Your utilization for January would be 20%, but your interest paid would be $0 because you did not carry any balance past the payment due date.



You can always call your bank and try to bargain about anything, but given that you are close to paying off your cards it may be more practical to see if you can raise funds another way to just pay them off. (For example, yard sale, do an odd job or two around your neighborhood, try to really live on an extreme budget for a month, etc.)






share|improve this answer
























  • 36





    So much this. If you're carrying a balance, you're using credit cards wrong. You should not care what the APR of your credit card is because you should never pay any interest. If you're paying interest, stop using credit cards right away. I have like 6 credit cards, and I have no idea what their APRs are. Because I pay them off in full every month. You should do the same.

    – only_pro
    May 28 at 15:50








  • 3





    @perennial_noob In that case I agree with DJClayworth's answer and dwizum's comment that they are just unlikely to extend the zero/low APR (it would be loaning you money indefinitely for free, which banks just hate doing). The zero APR is there to sucker you into carrying a balance.

    – user3067860
    May 28 at 20:37






  • 2





    @UKMonkey Citation please. Because that is not how credit score works, as thoroughly documented many, many places on the internet.

    – user3067860
    May 29 at 14:39






  • 3





    @UKMonkey You also don't need to carry any of that across the payment due date for it to count. If you get your statement and immediately pay it, it still counts for utilization. So no need to pay interest. (It is a common misunderstanding.)

    – user3067860
    May 29 at 15:50








  • 1





    @user3067860 - "The zero APR is there to sucker you into carrying a balance." Kinda true - it's really there as a marketing, customer generation/retention trick. Banks are OK with you carrying a zero balance, as long as you're generating transactions (and hence interchange). In many ways, interchange income is "better" for the FI because it's essentially risk-free, vs interest income from you carrying a balance (especially on something unsecured and volatile like a credit card) brings along the need to offset risk, reserve requirements, and hence is a costlier source of income.

    – dwizum
    May 29 at 17:24
















15


















You are misunderstanding utilization. You do not need to carry a balance past the due date to create utilization, in general carrying a balance past the due date is not a good idea. The best practice is to always pay off each month's balance when you receive your statement. (I'm sure there's some tiny exception in there somewhere, but for normal people--just pay the full balance on your credit card every month! No need to complicate it.)



Say you have a $100 credit limit (picked for easy math, not realism) and your statement date is the 1st of the month, with the payment due date being the 15th.



During January you spend $20 with that card.



Your statement comes Feb 1st saying your balance is $20 and you pay it immediately.



Your utilization for January would be 20%, but your interest paid would be $0 because you did not carry any balance past the payment due date.



You can always call your bank and try to bargain about anything, but given that you are close to paying off your cards it may be more practical to see if you can raise funds another way to just pay them off. (For example, yard sale, do an odd job or two around your neighborhood, try to really live on an extreme budget for a month, etc.)






share|improve this answer
























  • 36





    So much this. If you're carrying a balance, you're using credit cards wrong. You should not care what the APR of your credit card is because you should never pay any interest. If you're paying interest, stop using credit cards right away. I have like 6 credit cards, and I have no idea what their APRs are. Because I pay them off in full every month. You should do the same.

    – only_pro
    May 28 at 15:50








  • 3





    @perennial_noob In that case I agree with DJClayworth's answer and dwizum's comment that they are just unlikely to extend the zero/low APR (it would be loaning you money indefinitely for free, which banks just hate doing). The zero APR is there to sucker you into carrying a balance.

    – user3067860
    May 28 at 20:37






  • 2





    @UKMonkey Citation please. Because that is not how credit score works, as thoroughly documented many, many places on the internet.

    – user3067860
    May 29 at 14:39






  • 3





    @UKMonkey You also don't need to carry any of that across the payment due date for it to count. If you get your statement and immediately pay it, it still counts for utilization. So no need to pay interest. (It is a common misunderstanding.)

    – user3067860
    May 29 at 15:50








  • 1





    @user3067860 - "The zero APR is there to sucker you into carrying a balance." Kinda true - it's really there as a marketing, customer generation/retention trick. Banks are OK with you carrying a zero balance, as long as you're generating transactions (and hence interchange). In many ways, interchange income is "better" for the FI because it's essentially risk-free, vs interest income from you carrying a balance (especially on something unsecured and volatile like a credit card) brings along the need to offset risk, reserve requirements, and hence is a costlier source of income.

    – dwizum
    May 29 at 17:24














15














15










15









You are misunderstanding utilization. You do not need to carry a balance past the due date to create utilization, in general carrying a balance past the due date is not a good idea. The best practice is to always pay off each month's balance when you receive your statement. (I'm sure there's some tiny exception in there somewhere, but for normal people--just pay the full balance on your credit card every month! No need to complicate it.)



Say you have a $100 credit limit (picked for easy math, not realism) and your statement date is the 1st of the month, with the payment due date being the 15th.



During January you spend $20 with that card.



Your statement comes Feb 1st saying your balance is $20 and you pay it immediately.



Your utilization for January would be 20%, but your interest paid would be $0 because you did not carry any balance past the payment due date.



You can always call your bank and try to bargain about anything, but given that you are close to paying off your cards it may be more practical to see if you can raise funds another way to just pay them off. (For example, yard sale, do an odd job or two around your neighborhood, try to really live on an extreme budget for a month, etc.)






share|improve this answer
















You are misunderstanding utilization. You do not need to carry a balance past the due date to create utilization, in general carrying a balance past the due date is not a good idea. The best practice is to always pay off each month's balance when you receive your statement. (I'm sure there's some tiny exception in there somewhere, but for normal people--just pay the full balance on your credit card every month! No need to complicate it.)



Say you have a $100 credit limit (picked for easy math, not realism) and your statement date is the 1st of the month, with the payment due date being the 15th.



During January you spend $20 with that card.



Your statement comes Feb 1st saying your balance is $20 and you pay it immediately.



Your utilization for January would be 20%, but your interest paid would be $0 because you did not carry any balance past the payment due date.



You can always call your bank and try to bargain about anything, but given that you are close to paying off your cards it may be more practical to see if you can raise funds another way to just pay them off. (For example, yard sale, do an odd job or two around your neighborhood, try to really live on an extreme budget for a month, etc.)







share|improve this answer















share|improve this answer




share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer








edited May 28 at 17:45

























answered May 28 at 13:50









user3067860user3067860

7593 silver badges7 bronze badges




7593 silver badges7 bronze badges











  • 36





    So much this. If you're carrying a balance, you're using credit cards wrong. You should not care what the APR of your credit card is because you should never pay any interest. If you're paying interest, stop using credit cards right away. I have like 6 credit cards, and I have no idea what their APRs are. Because I pay them off in full every month. You should do the same.

    – only_pro
    May 28 at 15:50








  • 3





    @perennial_noob In that case I agree with DJClayworth's answer and dwizum's comment that they are just unlikely to extend the zero/low APR (it would be loaning you money indefinitely for free, which banks just hate doing). The zero APR is there to sucker you into carrying a balance.

    – user3067860
    May 28 at 20:37






  • 2





    @UKMonkey Citation please. Because that is not how credit score works, as thoroughly documented many, many places on the internet.

    – user3067860
    May 29 at 14:39






  • 3





    @UKMonkey You also don't need to carry any of that across the payment due date for it to count. If you get your statement and immediately pay it, it still counts for utilization. So no need to pay interest. (It is a common misunderstanding.)

    – user3067860
    May 29 at 15:50








  • 1





    @user3067860 - "The zero APR is there to sucker you into carrying a balance." Kinda true - it's really there as a marketing, customer generation/retention trick. Banks are OK with you carrying a zero balance, as long as you're generating transactions (and hence interchange). In many ways, interchange income is "better" for the FI because it's essentially risk-free, vs interest income from you carrying a balance (especially on something unsecured and volatile like a credit card) brings along the need to offset risk, reserve requirements, and hence is a costlier source of income.

    – dwizum
    May 29 at 17:24














  • 36





    So much this. If you're carrying a balance, you're using credit cards wrong. You should not care what the APR of your credit card is because you should never pay any interest. If you're paying interest, stop using credit cards right away. I have like 6 credit cards, and I have no idea what their APRs are. Because I pay them off in full every month. You should do the same.

    – only_pro
    May 28 at 15:50








  • 3





    @perennial_noob In that case I agree with DJClayworth's answer and dwizum's comment that they are just unlikely to extend the zero/low APR (it would be loaning you money indefinitely for free, which banks just hate doing). The zero APR is there to sucker you into carrying a balance.

    – user3067860
    May 28 at 20:37






  • 2





    @UKMonkey Citation please. Because that is not how credit score works, as thoroughly documented many, many places on the internet.

    – user3067860
    May 29 at 14:39






  • 3





    @UKMonkey You also don't need to carry any of that across the payment due date for it to count. If you get your statement and immediately pay it, it still counts for utilization. So no need to pay interest. (It is a common misunderstanding.)

    – user3067860
    May 29 at 15:50








  • 1





    @user3067860 - "The zero APR is there to sucker you into carrying a balance." Kinda true - it's really there as a marketing, customer generation/retention trick. Banks are OK with you carrying a zero balance, as long as you're generating transactions (and hence interchange). In many ways, interchange income is "better" for the FI because it's essentially risk-free, vs interest income from you carrying a balance (especially on something unsecured and volatile like a credit card) brings along the need to offset risk, reserve requirements, and hence is a costlier source of income.

    – dwizum
    May 29 at 17:24








36




36





So much this. If you're carrying a balance, you're using credit cards wrong. You should not care what the APR of your credit card is because you should never pay any interest. If you're paying interest, stop using credit cards right away. I have like 6 credit cards, and I have no idea what their APRs are. Because I pay them off in full every month. You should do the same.

– only_pro
May 28 at 15:50







So much this. If you're carrying a balance, you're using credit cards wrong. You should not care what the APR of your credit card is because you should never pay any interest. If you're paying interest, stop using credit cards right away. I have like 6 credit cards, and I have no idea what their APRs are. Because I pay them off in full every month. You should do the same.

– only_pro
May 28 at 15:50






3




3





@perennial_noob In that case I agree with DJClayworth's answer and dwizum's comment that they are just unlikely to extend the zero/low APR (it would be loaning you money indefinitely for free, which banks just hate doing). The zero APR is there to sucker you into carrying a balance.

– user3067860
May 28 at 20:37





@perennial_noob In that case I agree with DJClayworth's answer and dwizum's comment that they are just unlikely to extend the zero/low APR (it would be loaning you money indefinitely for free, which banks just hate doing). The zero APR is there to sucker you into carrying a balance.

– user3067860
May 28 at 20:37




2




2





@UKMonkey Citation please. Because that is not how credit score works, as thoroughly documented many, many places on the internet.

– user3067860
May 29 at 14:39





@UKMonkey Citation please. Because that is not how credit score works, as thoroughly documented many, many places on the internet.

– user3067860
May 29 at 14:39




3




3





@UKMonkey You also don't need to carry any of that across the payment due date for it to count. If you get your statement and immediately pay it, it still counts for utilization. So no need to pay interest. (It is a common misunderstanding.)

– user3067860
May 29 at 15:50







@UKMonkey You also don't need to carry any of that across the payment due date for it to count. If you get your statement and immediately pay it, it still counts for utilization. So no need to pay interest. (It is a common misunderstanding.)

– user3067860
May 29 at 15:50






1




1





@user3067860 - "The zero APR is there to sucker you into carrying a balance." Kinda true - it's really there as a marketing, customer generation/retention trick. Banks are OK with you carrying a zero balance, as long as you're generating transactions (and hence interchange). In many ways, interchange income is "better" for the FI because it's essentially risk-free, vs interest income from you carrying a balance (especially on something unsecured and volatile like a credit card) brings along the need to offset risk, reserve requirements, and hence is a costlier source of income.

– dwizum
May 29 at 17:24





@user3067860 - "The zero APR is there to sucker you into carrying a balance." Kinda true - it's really there as a marketing, customer generation/retention trick. Banks are OK with you carrying a zero balance, as long as you're generating transactions (and hence interchange). In many ways, interchange income is "better" for the FI because it's essentially risk-free, vs interest income from you carrying a balance (especially on something unsecured and volatile like a credit card) brings along the need to offset risk, reserve requirements, and hence is a costlier source of income.

– dwizum
May 29 at 17:24











3


















In addition to DJClayworth's answer there are very few (truly) 0% finance offers. Most have a fee of around 5%. In the case of a 12 month 0% finance offer that is paid off prior to the period expiring, the borrower ends up paying about 7.5% interest, not exactly cheap and certainly not free.



You may be able to get another 0% interest rate period, but your goal should be to not pay CC interests ever again. Those 0% deals are not healthy for your long term financial well being.






share|improve this answer






















  • 6





    This is very country-dependent. In the UK, for instance, there are at least six major banks currently offering a fixed term at 0% with no fee. The Bank of England base rate is currently sitting at less than a third of the US federal funds rate, so institutions are competing for low-risk borrowers with genuinely free debt for the chance of getting their high-interest business further down the line.

    – Will
    May 28 at 13:48






  • 3





    Pete, I'm confused by the "borrower ends up paying about 7.5% interest" statement. How is that so?

    – Roijan Eskor
    May 28 at 15:59






  • 1





    @RoijanEskor 5% upfront, on the entire balance works out to about 7.5% if paid off in the year, It is actually more, but close enough for discussion.

    – Pete B.
    May 28 at 16:42











  • @Pete B: Doesn't that depend on how you pay it off? If it's equal payments, 7.5% seems close. (But I'm too lazy to do the actual math :-)) But if you make the minimum payments through the year, then pay off the remaining sum at the end, it's much closer to 5%.

    – jamesqf
    May 28 at 17:45






  • 1





    @briantist - in my case it is a card that is on 0% purchase APR (soon to expire) and so it will be an extension to 0% purchase APR for potentially 6 months to 1 year.

    – perennial_noob
    May 30 at 22:14
















3


















In addition to DJClayworth's answer there are very few (truly) 0% finance offers. Most have a fee of around 5%. In the case of a 12 month 0% finance offer that is paid off prior to the period expiring, the borrower ends up paying about 7.5% interest, not exactly cheap and certainly not free.



You may be able to get another 0% interest rate period, but your goal should be to not pay CC interests ever again. Those 0% deals are not healthy for your long term financial well being.






share|improve this answer






















  • 6





    This is very country-dependent. In the UK, for instance, there are at least six major banks currently offering a fixed term at 0% with no fee. The Bank of England base rate is currently sitting at less than a third of the US federal funds rate, so institutions are competing for low-risk borrowers with genuinely free debt for the chance of getting their high-interest business further down the line.

    – Will
    May 28 at 13:48






  • 3





    Pete, I'm confused by the "borrower ends up paying about 7.5% interest" statement. How is that so?

    – Roijan Eskor
    May 28 at 15:59






  • 1





    @RoijanEskor 5% upfront, on the entire balance works out to about 7.5% if paid off in the year, It is actually more, but close enough for discussion.

    – Pete B.
    May 28 at 16:42











  • @Pete B: Doesn't that depend on how you pay it off? If it's equal payments, 7.5% seems close. (But I'm too lazy to do the actual math :-)) But if you make the minimum payments through the year, then pay off the remaining sum at the end, it's much closer to 5%.

    – jamesqf
    May 28 at 17:45






  • 1





    @briantist - in my case it is a card that is on 0% purchase APR (soon to expire) and so it will be an extension to 0% purchase APR for potentially 6 months to 1 year.

    – perennial_noob
    May 30 at 22:14














3














3










3









In addition to DJClayworth's answer there are very few (truly) 0% finance offers. Most have a fee of around 5%. In the case of a 12 month 0% finance offer that is paid off prior to the period expiring, the borrower ends up paying about 7.5% interest, not exactly cheap and certainly not free.



You may be able to get another 0% interest rate period, but your goal should be to not pay CC interests ever again. Those 0% deals are not healthy for your long term financial well being.






share|improve this answer














In addition to DJClayworth's answer there are very few (truly) 0% finance offers. Most have a fee of around 5%. In the case of a 12 month 0% finance offer that is paid off prior to the period expiring, the borrower ends up paying about 7.5% interest, not exactly cheap and certainly not free.



You may be able to get another 0% interest rate period, but your goal should be to not pay CC interests ever again. Those 0% deals are not healthy for your long term financial well being.







share|improve this answer













share|improve this answer




share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer










answered May 28 at 13:07









Pete B.Pete B.

57.9k14 gold badges126 silver badges181 bronze badges




57.9k14 gold badges126 silver badges181 bronze badges











  • 6





    This is very country-dependent. In the UK, for instance, there are at least six major banks currently offering a fixed term at 0% with no fee. The Bank of England base rate is currently sitting at less than a third of the US federal funds rate, so institutions are competing for low-risk borrowers with genuinely free debt for the chance of getting their high-interest business further down the line.

    – Will
    May 28 at 13:48






  • 3





    Pete, I'm confused by the "borrower ends up paying about 7.5% interest" statement. How is that so?

    – Roijan Eskor
    May 28 at 15:59






  • 1





    @RoijanEskor 5% upfront, on the entire balance works out to about 7.5% if paid off in the year, It is actually more, but close enough for discussion.

    – Pete B.
    May 28 at 16:42











  • @Pete B: Doesn't that depend on how you pay it off? If it's equal payments, 7.5% seems close. (But I'm too lazy to do the actual math :-)) But if you make the minimum payments through the year, then pay off the remaining sum at the end, it's much closer to 5%.

    – jamesqf
    May 28 at 17:45






  • 1





    @briantist - in my case it is a card that is on 0% purchase APR (soon to expire) and so it will be an extension to 0% purchase APR for potentially 6 months to 1 year.

    – perennial_noob
    May 30 at 22:14














  • 6





    This is very country-dependent. In the UK, for instance, there are at least six major banks currently offering a fixed term at 0% with no fee. The Bank of England base rate is currently sitting at less than a third of the US federal funds rate, so institutions are competing for low-risk borrowers with genuinely free debt for the chance of getting their high-interest business further down the line.

    – Will
    May 28 at 13:48






  • 3





    Pete, I'm confused by the "borrower ends up paying about 7.5% interest" statement. How is that so?

    – Roijan Eskor
    May 28 at 15:59






  • 1





    @RoijanEskor 5% upfront, on the entire balance works out to about 7.5% if paid off in the year, It is actually more, but close enough for discussion.

    – Pete B.
    May 28 at 16:42











  • @Pete B: Doesn't that depend on how you pay it off? If it's equal payments, 7.5% seems close. (But I'm too lazy to do the actual math :-)) But if you make the minimum payments through the year, then pay off the remaining sum at the end, it's much closer to 5%.

    – jamesqf
    May 28 at 17:45






  • 1





    @briantist - in my case it is a card that is on 0% purchase APR (soon to expire) and so it will be an extension to 0% purchase APR for potentially 6 months to 1 year.

    – perennial_noob
    May 30 at 22:14








6




6





This is very country-dependent. In the UK, for instance, there are at least six major banks currently offering a fixed term at 0% with no fee. The Bank of England base rate is currently sitting at less than a third of the US federal funds rate, so institutions are competing for low-risk borrowers with genuinely free debt for the chance of getting their high-interest business further down the line.

– Will
May 28 at 13:48





This is very country-dependent. In the UK, for instance, there are at least six major banks currently offering a fixed term at 0% with no fee. The Bank of England base rate is currently sitting at less than a third of the US federal funds rate, so institutions are competing for low-risk borrowers with genuinely free debt for the chance of getting their high-interest business further down the line.

– Will
May 28 at 13:48




3




3





Pete, I'm confused by the "borrower ends up paying about 7.5% interest" statement. How is that so?

– Roijan Eskor
May 28 at 15:59





Pete, I'm confused by the "borrower ends up paying about 7.5% interest" statement. How is that so?

– Roijan Eskor
May 28 at 15:59




1




1





@RoijanEskor 5% upfront, on the entire balance works out to about 7.5% if paid off in the year, It is actually more, but close enough for discussion.

– Pete B.
May 28 at 16:42





@RoijanEskor 5% upfront, on the entire balance works out to about 7.5% if paid off in the year, It is actually more, but close enough for discussion.

– Pete B.
May 28 at 16:42













@Pete B: Doesn't that depend on how you pay it off? If it's equal payments, 7.5% seems close. (But I'm too lazy to do the actual math :-)) But if you make the minimum payments through the year, then pay off the remaining sum at the end, it's much closer to 5%.

– jamesqf
May 28 at 17:45





@Pete B: Doesn't that depend on how you pay it off? If it's equal payments, 7.5% seems close. (But I'm too lazy to do the actual math :-)) But if you make the minimum payments through the year, then pay off the remaining sum at the end, it's much closer to 5%.

– jamesqf
May 28 at 17:45




1




1





@briantist - in my case it is a card that is on 0% purchase APR (soon to expire) and so it will be an extension to 0% purchase APR for potentially 6 months to 1 year.

– perennial_noob
May 30 at 22:14





@briantist - in my case it is a card that is on 0% purchase APR (soon to expire) and so it will be an extension to 0% purchase APR for potentially 6 months to 1 year.

– perennial_noob
May 30 at 22:14











3


















Banks compete on APR, less so on credit limits. That is, a bank might be willing to give you a lower APR to keep you from going to another bank, but it's less likely they'll give you a higher credit limit to do so. If they think you're a good credit risk, then they'll want to increase your limit so that you'll borrow more, regardless of whether you have other offers. And if they don't think you're a good credit risk, then they aren't going to increase your credit limit, because they don't want your additional business (that is, they don't want you to borrow more money from them). The credit limit is based on how much they think you can repay, not how much they think they need to offer you to keep you from going elsewhere.



So the idea of "bargaining" between APR and credit limit has limited validity. You're looking at it from your point of view: you're offering to give up something in exchange for you getting something. But you need to look at it from theirs: you're asking them to give up something they want (you being able to borrow more from them) in exchange for them giving up something they want (APR). That doesn't make any sense. It's a bit like if you were pushing for more overtime, and your boss came back to you with "I see you'd like to work more overtime. What if instead we paid you a lower hourly wage?"



That being said, asking for a lower APR by itself is a reasonable thing to do. It's not guaranteed to be successful, but it's worth a try. And if that doesn't work, you can also look for new cards that will offer a lower, or zero, APR.






share|improve this answer






















  • 1





    But, if your first sentence is right, then the bank should be willing to aggressively lower the APR, because that will help them compete for the OP's business --- especially since they've already demonstrated their faith by increasing the credit limit. Maybe they'd be willing to do both.

    – jpaugh
    May 31 at 17:59











  • Yeah, that seems like how quid said in their response. It is looking agreeable that there are multiple levers to consider and multiple ways of earning for the banks.

    – perennial_noob
    May 31 at 22:14
















3


















Banks compete on APR, less so on credit limits. That is, a bank might be willing to give you a lower APR to keep you from going to another bank, but it's less likely they'll give you a higher credit limit to do so. If they think you're a good credit risk, then they'll want to increase your limit so that you'll borrow more, regardless of whether you have other offers. And if they don't think you're a good credit risk, then they aren't going to increase your credit limit, because they don't want your additional business (that is, they don't want you to borrow more money from them). The credit limit is based on how much they think you can repay, not how much they think they need to offer you to keep you from going elsewhere.



So the idea of "bargaining" between APR and credit limit has limited validity. You're looking at it from your point of view: you're offering to give up something in exchange for you getting something. But you need to look at it from theirs: you're asking them to give up something they want (you being able to borrow more from them) in exchange for them giving up something they want (APR). That doesn't make any sense. It's a bit like if you were pushing for more overtime, and your boss came back to you with "I see you'd like to work more overtime. What if instead we paid you a lower hourly wage?"



That being said, asking for a lower APR by itself is a reasonable thing to do. It's not guaranteed to be successful, but it's worth a try. And if that doesn't work, you can also look for new cards that will offer a lower, or zero, APR.






share|improve this answer






















  • 1





    But, if your first sentence is right, then the bank should be willing to aggressively lower the APR, because that will help them compete for the OP's business --- especially since they've already demonstrated their faith by increasing the credit limit. Maybe they'd be willing to do both.

    – jpaugh
    May 31 at 17:59











  • Yeah, that seems like how quid said in their response. It is looking agreeable that there are multiple levers to consider and multiple ways of earning for the banks.

    – perennial_noob
    May 31 at 22:14














3














3










3









Banks compete on APR, less so on credit limits. That is, a bank might be willing to give you a lower APR to keep you from going to another bank, but it's less likely they'll give you a higher credit limit to do so. If they think you're a good credit risk, then they'll want to increase your limit so that you'll borrow more, regardless of whether you have other offers. And if they don't think you're a good credit risk, then they aren't going to increase your credit limit, because they don't want your additional business (that is, they don't want you to borrow more money from them). The credit limit is based on how much they think you can repay, not how much they think they need to offer you to keep you from going elsewhere.



So the idea of "bargaining" between APR and credit limit has limited validity. You're looking at it from your point of view: you're offering to give up something in exchange for you getting something. But you need to look at it from theirs: you're asking them to give up something they want (you being able to borrow more from them) in exchange for them giving up something they want (APR). That doesn't make any sense. It's a bit like if you were pushing for more overtime, and your boss came back to you with "I see you'd like to work more overtime. What if instead we paid you a lower hourly wage?"



That being said, asking for a lower APR by itself is a reasonable thing to do. It's not guaranteed to be successful, but it's worth a try. And if that doesn't work, you can also look for new cards that will offer a lower, or zero, APR.






share|improve this answer














Banks compete on APR, less so on credit limits. That is, a bank might be willing to give you a lower APR to keep you from going to another bank, but it's less likely they'll give you a higher credit limit to do so. If they think you're a good credit risk, then they'll want to increase your limit so that you'll borrow more, regardless of whether you have other offers. And if they don't think you're a good credit risk, then they aren't going to increase your credit limit, because they don't want your additional business (that is, they don't want you to borrow more money from them). The credit limit is based on how much they think you can repay, not how much they think they need to offer you to keep you from going elsewhere.



So the idea of "bargaining" between APR and credit limit has limited validity. You're looking at it from your point of view: you're offering to give up something in exchange for you getting something. But you need to look at it from theirs: you're asking them to give up something they want (you being able to borrow more from them) in exchange for them giving up something they want (APR). That doesn't make any sense. It's a bit like if you were pushing for more overtime, and your boss came back to you with "I see you'd like to work more overtime. What if instead we paid you a lower hourly wage?"



That being said, asking for a lower APR by itself is a reasonable thing to do. It's not guaranteed to be successful, but it's worth a try. And if that doesn't work, you can also look for new cards that will offer a lower, or zero, APR.







share|improve this answer













share|improve this answer




share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer










answered May 29 at 17:58









AcccumulationAcccumulation

5,40110 silver badges22 bronze badges




5,40110 silver badges22 bronze badges











  • 1





    But, if your first sentence is right, then the bank should be willing to aggressively lower the APR, because that will help them compete for the OP's business --- especially since they've already demonstrated their faith by increasing the credit limit. Maybe they'd be willing to do both.

    – jpaugh
    May 31 at 17:59











  • Yeah, that seems like how quid said in their response. It is looking agreeable that there are multiple levers to consider and multiple ways of earning for the banks.

    – perennial_noob
    May 31 at 22:14














  • 1





    But, if your first sentence is right, then the bank should be willing to aggressively lower the APR, because that will help them compete for the OP's business --- especially since they've already demonstrated their faith by increasing the credit limit. Maybe they'd be willing to do both.

    – jpaugh
    May 31 at 17:59











  • Yeah, that seems like how quid said in their response. It is looking agreeable that there are multiple levers to consider and multiple ways of earning for the banks.

    – perennial_noob
    May 31 at 22:14








1




1





But, if your first sentence is right, then the bank should be willing to aggressively lower the APR, because that will help them compete for the OP's business --- especially since they've already demonstrated their faith by increasing the credit limit. Maybe they'd be willing to do both.

– jpaugh
May 31 at 17:59





But, if your first sentence is right, then the bank should be willing to aggressively lower the APR, because that will help them compete for the OP's business --- especially since they've already demonstrated their faith by increasing the credit limit. Maybe they'd be willing to do both.

– jpaugh
May 31 at 17:59













Yeah, that seems like how quid said in their response. It is looking agreeable that there are multiple levers to consider and multiple ways of earning for the banks.

– perennial_noob
May 31 at 22:14





Yeah, that seems like how quid said in their response. It is looking agreeable that there are multiple levers to consider and multiple ways of earning for the banks.

– perennial_noob
May 31 at 22:14











2


















A point that hasn't been made yet is that "0% on new purchases" offers are a customer acquisition strategy. In my experience (US), they're not used for customer retention.



More common for retention are "0% balance transfers" offers, which as noted in Pete B's answer aren't truly free.






share|improve this answer






















  • 2





    I've gotten 0% on new purchases offers from existing cards on many occasions. The idea is to capture the spending, the credit card company makes money when you spend as well as from interest. When you're a long term customer they'll offer a 0% on spending offer in order to get you to change which card you're using or maybe use that card for a single large purchase; they want to at least make the fee even if they know you don't pay interest.

    – quid
    May 28 at 21:02











  • @quid - see that's a valid point. If the banks want to retain someone (even an avg long standing customer but not super rich) they might benefit from 0% Apr offer too.

    – perennial_noob
    May 28 at 21:15











  • Should i edit the answer to say it’s inaccurate, but leave it up for posterity, or delete it?

    – thehole
    May 28 at 21:22











  • @thehole, you may want to just expand. It's definitely more of a customer acquisition strategy, but for the "pay off the card every month crowd" it's a "please use our card that you leave in that shoebox to buy that couch" strategy.

    – quid
    May 28 at 21:24











  • How come you didn't present this counter point on the most voted answer currently? I credit you there in a comment @quid

    – perennial_noob
    May 28 at 21:25
















2


















A point that hasn't been made yet is that "0% on new purchases" offers are a customer acquisition strategy. In my experience (US), they're not used for customer retention.



More common for retention are "0% balance transfers" offers, which as noted in Pete B's answer aren't truly free.






share|improve this answer






















  • 2





    I've gotten 0% on new purchases offers from existing cards on many occasions. The idea is to capture the spending, the credit card company makes money when you spend as well as from interest. When you're a long term customer they'll offer a 0% on spending offer in order to get you to change which card you're using or maybe use that card for a single large purchase; they want to at least make the fee even if they know you don't pay interest.

    – quid
    May 28 at 21:02











  • @quid - see that's a valid point. If the banks want to retain someone (even an avg long standing customer but not super rich) they might benefit from 0% Apr offer too.

    – perennial_noob
    May 28 at 21:15











  • Should i edit the answer to say it’s inaccurate, but leave it up for posterity, or delete it?

    – thehole
    May 28 at 21:22











  • @thehole, you may want to just expand. It's definitely more of a customer acquisition strategy, but for the "pay off the card every month crowd" it's a "please use our card that you leave in that shoebox to buy that couch" strategy.

    – quid
    May 28 at 21:24











  • How come you didn't present this counter point on the most voted answer currently? I credit you there in a comment @quid

    – perennial_noob
    May 28 at 21:25














2














2










2









A point that hasn't been made yet is that "0% on new purchases" offers are a customer acquisition strategy. In my experience (US), they're not used for customer retention.



More common for retention are "0% balance transfers" offers, which as noted in Pete B's answer aren't truly free.






share|improve this answer














A point that hasn't been made yet is that "0% on new purchases" offers are a customer acquisition strategy. In my experience (US), they're not used for customer retention.



More common for retention are "0% balance transfers" offers, which as noted in Pete B's answer aren't truly free.







share|improve this answer













share|improve this answer




share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer










answered May 28 at 20:57









theholethehole

2402 silver badges7 bronze badges




2402 silver badges7 bronze badges











  • 2





    I've gotten 0% on new purchases offers from existing cards on many occasions. The idea is to capture the spending, the credit card company makes money when you spend as well as from interest. When you're a long term customer they'll offer a 0% on spending offer in order to get you to change which card you're using or maybe use that card for a single large purchase; they want to at least make the fee even if they know you don't pay interest.

    – quid
    May 28 at 21:02











  • @quid - see that's a valid point. If the banks want to retain someone (even an avg long standing customer but not super rich) they might benefit from 0% Apr offer too.

    – perennial_noob
    May 28 at 21:15











  • Should i edit the answer to say it’s inaccurate, but leave it up for posterity, or delete it?

    – thehole
    May 28 at 21:22











  • @thehole, you may want to just expand. It's definitely more of a customer acquisition strategy, but for the "pay off the card every month crowd" it's a "please use our card that you leave in that shoebox to buy that couch" strategy.

    – quid
    May 28 at 21:24











  • How come you didn't present this counter point on the most voted answer currently? I credit you there in a comment @quid

    – perennial_noob
    May 28 at 21:25














  • 2





    I've gotten 0% on new purchases offers from existing cards on many occasions. The idea is to capture the spending, the credit card company makes money when you spend as well as from interest. When you're a long term customer they'll offer a 0% on spending offer in order to get you to change which card you're using or maybe use that card for a single large purchase; they want to at least make the fee even if they know you don't pay interest.

    – quid
    May 28 at 21:02











  • @quid - see that's a valid point. If the banks want to retain someone (even an avg long standing customer but not super rich) they might benefit from 0% Apr offer too.

    – perennial_noob
    May 28 at 21:15











  • Should i edit the answer to say it’s inaccurate, but leave it up for posterity, or delete it?

    – thehole
    May 28 at 21:22











  • @thehole, you may want to just expand. It's definitely more of a customer acquisition strategy, but for the "pay off the card every month crowd" it's a "please use our card that you leave in that shoebox to buy that couch" strategy.

    – quid
    May 28 at 21:24











  • How come you didn't present this counter point on the most voted answer currently? I credit you there in a comment @quid

    – perennial_noob
    May 28 at 21:25








2




2





I've gotten 0% on new purchases offers from existing cards on many occasions. The idea is to capture the spending, the credit card company makes money when you spend as well as from interest. When you're a long term customer they'll offer a 0% on spending offer in order to get you to change which card you're using or maybe use that card for a single large purchase; they want to at least make the fee even if they know you don't pay interest.

– quid
May 28 at 21:02





I've gotten 0% on new purchases offers from existing cards on many occasions. The idea is to capture the spending, the credit card company makes money when you spend as well as from interest. When you're a long term customer they'll offer a 0% on spending offer in order to get you to change which card you're using or maybe use that card for a single large purchase; they want to at least make the fee even if they know you don't pay interest.

– quid
May 28 at 21:02













@quid - see that's a valid point. If the banks want to retain someone (even an avg long standing customer but not super rich) they might benefit from 0% Apr offer too.

– perennial_noob
May 28 at 21:15





@quid - see that's a valid point. If the banks want to retain someone (even an avg long standing customer but not super rich) they might benefit from 0% Apr offer too.

– perennial_noob
May 28 at 21:15













Should i edit the answer to say it’s inaccurate, but leave it up for posterity, or delete it?

– thehole
May 28 at 21:22





Should i edit the answer to say it’s inaccurate, but leave it up for posterity, or delete it?

– thehole
May 28 at 21:22













@thehole, you may want to just expand. It's definitely more of a customer acquisition strategy, but for the "pay off the card every month crowd" it's a "please use our card that you leave in that shoebox to buy that couch" strategy.

– quid
May 28 at 21:24





@thehole, you may want to just expand. It's definitely more of a customer acquisition strategy, but for the "pay off the card every month crowd" it's a "please use our card that you leave in that shoebox to buy that couch" strategy.

– quid
May 28 at 21:24













How come you didn't present this counter point on the most voted answer currently? I credit you there in a comment @quid

– perennial_noob
May 28 at 21:25





How come you didn't present this counter point on the most voted answer currently? I credit you there in a comment @quid

– perennial_noob
May 28 at 21:25











2


















Sure, you can ASK. Frankly I doubt they'll say yes, but what does it cost you to ask? A little bit of your time, maybe a few cents on your phone bill if you have a pay-by-the-minute plan. :-)






share|improve this answer



























  • it is beyond the expenditure of a few cents. You're right in that there is no harm in asking. However, could there be a folly in requesting a lower APR in lieu of increased limit? Perhaps credit utilization and scores is one ramification to consider.

    – perennial_noob
    May 29 at 3:58











  • @perennial_noob In that sense, you'd have to compare the benefits of a higher credit score resulting from lower credit utilization, to smaller payments resulting from the lower interest. A better credit score means lenders will be willing to loan you more money. If your credit limit is already adequate for your needs, this doesn't do you much good. A better credit score can also result in getting lower interest rates. Whether these would be better than the rate the bank would give you in this hypothetical situation ... who knows?

    – Jay
    May 29 at 13:57











  • Further thought: If you're carrying a balance -- as the OP says he is -- reducing the interest rate is a clear benefit: you'll pay less in interest every month. The benefits of a higher credit score are more ambiguous.

    – Jay
    May 29 at 16:22











  • I'll have paid off the balance by the promotion expiry. But you're right and I could use it to even out payments for the months/year following the expiry of the promotion.

    – perennial_noob
    May 31 at 23:55
















2


















Sure, you can ASK. Frankly I doubt they'll say yes, but what does it cost you to ask? A little bit of your time, maybe a few cents on your phone bill if you have a pay-by-the-minute plan. :-)






share|improve this answer



























  • it is beyond the expenditure of a few cents. You're right in that there is no harm in asking. However, could there be a folly in requesting a lower APR in lieu of increased limit? Perhaps credit utilization and scores is one ramification to consider.

    – perennial_noob
    May 29 at 3:58











  • @perennial_noob In that sense, you'd have to compare the benefits of a higher credit score resulting from lower credit utilization, to smaller payments resulting from the lower interest. A better credit score means lenders will be willing to loan you more money. If your credit limit is already adequate for your needs, this doesn't do you much good. A better credit score can also result in getting lower interest rates. Whether these would be better than the rate the bank would give you in this hypothetical situation ... who knows?

    – Jay
    May 29 at 13:57











  • Further thought: If you're carrying a balance -- as the OP says he is -- reducing the interest rate is a clear benefit: you'll pay less in interest every month. The benefits of a higher credit score are more ambiguous.

    – Jay
    May 29 at 16:22











  • I'll have paid off the balance by the promotion expiry. But you're right and I could use it to even out payments for the months/year following the expiry of the promotion.

    – perennial_noob
    May 31 at 23:55














2














2










2









Sure, you can ASK. Frankly I doubt they'll say yes, but what does it cost you to ask? A little bit of your time, maybe a few cents on your phone bill if you have a pay-by-the-minute plan. :-)






share|improve this answer














Sure, you can ASK. Frankly I doubt they'll say yes, but what does it cost you to ask? A little bit of your time, maybe a few cents on your phone bill if you have a pay-by-the-minute plan. :-)







share|improve this answer













share|improve this answer




share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer










answered May 28 at 21:11









JayJay

17.9k1 gold badge24 silver badges58 bronze badges




17.9k1 gold badge24 silver badges58 bronze badges
















  • it is beyond the expenditure of a few cents. You're right in that there is no harm in asking. However, could there be a folly in requesting a lower APR in lieu of increased limit? Perhaps credit utilization and scores is one ramification to consider.

    – perennial_noob
    May 29 at 3:58











  • @perennial_noob In that sense, you'd have to compare the benefits of a higher credit score resulting from lower credit utilization, to smaller payments resulting from the lower interest. A better credit score means lenders will be willing to loan you more money. If your credit limit is already adequate for your needs, this doesn't do you much good. A better credit score can also result in getting lower interest rates. Whether these would be better than the rate the bank would give you in this hypothetical situation ... who knows?

    – Jay
    May 29 at 13:57











  • Further thought: If you're carrying a balance -- as the OP says he is -- reducing the interest rate is a clear benefit: you'll pay less in interest every month. The benefits of a higher credit score are more ambiguous.

    – Jay
    May 29 at 16:22











  • I'll have paid off the balance by the promotion expiry. But you're right and I could use it to even out payments for the months/year following the expiry of the promotion.

    – perennial_noob
    May 31 at 23:55



















  • it is beyond the expenditure of a few cents. You're right in that there is no harm in asking. However, could there be a folly in requesting a lower APR in lieu of increased limit? Perhaps credit utilization and scores is one ramification to consider.

    – perennial_noob
    May 29 at 3:58











  • @perennial_noob In that sense, you'd have to compare the benefits of a higher credit score resulting from lower credit utilization, to smaller payments resulting from the lower interest. A better credit score means lenders will be willing to loan you more money. If your credit limit is already adequate for your needs, this doesn't do you much good. A better credit score can also result in getting lower interest rates. Whether these would be better than the rate the bank would give you in this hypothetical situation ... who knows?

    – Jay
    May 29 at 13:57











  • Further thought: If you're carrying a balance -- as the OP says he is -- reducing the interest rate is a clear benefit: you'll pay less in interest every month. The benefits of a higher credit score are more ambiguous.

    – Jay
    May 29 at 16:22











  • I'll have paid off the balance by the promotion expiry. But you're right and I could use it to even out payments for the months/year following the expiry of the promotion.

    – perennial_noob
    May 31 at 23:55

















it is beyond the expenditure of a few cents. You're right in that there is no harm in asking. However, could there be a folly in requesting a lower APR in lieu of increased limit? Perhaps credit utilization and scores is one ramification to consider.

– perennial_noob
May 29 at 3:58





it is beyond the expenditure of a few cents. You're right in that there is no harm in asking. However, could there be a folly in requesting a lower APR in lieu of increased limit? Perhaps credit utilization and scores is one ramification to consider.

– perennial_noob
May 29 at 3:58













@perennial_noob In that sense, you'd have to compare the benefits of a higher credit score resulting from lower credit utilization, to smaller payments resulting from the lower interest. A better credit score means lenders will be willing to loan you more money. If your credit limit is already adequate for your needs, this doesn't do you much good. A better credit score can also result in getting lower interest rates. Whether these would be better than the rate the bank would give you in this hypothetical situation ... who knows?

– Jay
May 29 at 13:57





@perennial_noob In that sense, you'd have to compare the benefits of a higher credit score resulting from lower credit utilization, to smaller payments resulting from the lower interest. A better credit score means lenders will be willing to loan you more money. If your credit limit is already adequate for your needs, this doesn't do you much good. A better credit score can also result in getting lower interest rates. Whether these would be better than the rate the bank would give you in this hypothetical situation ... who knows?

– Jay
May 29 at 13:57













Further thought: If you're carrying a balance -- as the OP says he is -- reducing the interest rate is a clear benefit: you'll pay less in interest every month. The benefits of a higher credit score are more ambiguous.

– Jay
May 29 at 16:22





Further thought: If you're carrying a balance -- as the OP says he is -- reducing the interest rate is a clear benefit: you'll pay less in interest every month. The benefits of a higher credit score are more ambiguous.

– Jay
May 29 at 16:22













I'll have paid off the balance by the promotion expiry. But you're right and I could use it to even out payments for the months/year following the expiry of the promotion.

– perennial_noob
May 31 at 23:55





I'll have paid off the balance by the promotion expiry. But you're right and I could use it to even out payments for the months/year following the expiry of the promotion.

– perennial_noob
May 31 at 23:55











1


















I don't think the bank would agree to reduce your APR. Increasing your limit is much more profitable from their perspective.



If you have a high limit, that creates the possibility that you will borrow more money, which creates the possibility that you won't be able to pay it off, which means you would pay interest in proportion to your credit - this is where the bank makes money, after all. Even if you feel that you can pay it off easily, you can always get hit with a sudden emergency.



For many people, a higher limit also has a psychological effect in that they feel like they have more money "on hand", so they allocate more of their budget to spending.



That said, you should still ask for a lower APR - they might agree due to their own customer retention policy. But it won't necessarily be because your limit went up.



As you say, having more credit increases your score. However, it doesn't increase it that much and credit score doesn't matter that much anyway (I can link questions on here if you're curious). The main effect of the credit score is that if it's really low (as in, a history of delinquency on major loans such as car or house), the bank will either refuse to give you a credit card or demand exorbitant APRs (25%+). But really high scores don't translate into better APR. Mediocre score will get you about 16%, good score will get you 12%. If you have a unique situation (qualifying for a very "high wealth" card like the fancier AmEx cards) then you can get maybe 10%, but I doubt you can get an ordinary credit card with less APR than that. And 10% is still a lot to be borrowing for anything other than emergencies, really. However, by signing up for new cards, you could conceivably get APR 1-2% less than whatever you currently have.



You have a 0% card, which is great! Keep using it as much as you can. It is in your interest as a consumer to borrow as much as possible on the 0% APR (provided you can ensure that you will be able to pay it off) and then move to a different 0% APR card once your current introductory period is over.






share|improve this answer






















  • 1





    "It is in your interest as a consumer to borrow as much as possible on the 0% APR (provided you can ensure that you will be able to pay it off)" Every credit card I've seen has a 0% APR if you just pay the bill in full on or before the due date every single time. So given that "you can ensure that you will be able to pay it off", any credit card will effectively have a 0% APR.

    – a CVn
    May 30 at 12:01











  • @aCVn - of course there is that. But the difference is that with an actual 0% APR you do get to carry balances which may be useful for individuals who have had unexpected expenditures on them and getting a personal loan is definitely more expensive.

    – perennial_noob
    May 30 at 21:46











  • @perennial_noob True. However, that does not mean that it's in your best interest to borrow money simply because you can. I would say it's in my best interest to have 0% APR available; but unless I'm somehow making (or saving) money by carrying a balance, it's not worth it to actually do so.

    – jpaugh
    May 31 at 18:04











  • @jpaugh - no that's not the focus of the discussion. You're right and that's basic personal finance to not spend more than you have. The point has been that there have been sudden unexpected expenses put in and extending the zero percent gives more buffer time to spread such expenses over a few months (versus paying the next month in full).

    – perennial_noob
    May 31 at 21:01
















1


















I don't think the bank would agree to reduce your APR. Increasing your limit is much more profitable from their perspective.



If you have a high limit, that creates the possibility that you will borrow more money, which creates the possibility that you won't be able to pay it off, which means you would pay interest in proportion to your credit - this is where the bank makes money, after all. Even if you feel that you can pay it off easily, you can always get hit with a sudden emergency.



For many people, a higher limit also has a psychological effect in that they feel like they have more money "on hand", so they allocate more of their budget to spending.



That said, you should still ask for a lower APR - they might agree due to their own customer retention policy. But it won't necessarily be because your limit went up.



As you say, having more credit increases your score. However, it doesn't increase it that much and credit score doesn't matter that much anyway (I can link questions on here if you're curious). The main effect of the credit score is that if it's really low (as in, a history of delinquency on major loans such as car or house), the bank will either refuse to give you a credit card or demand exorbitant APRs (25%+). But really high scores don't translate into better APR. Mediocre score will get you about 16%, good score will get you 12%. If you have a unique situation (qualifying for a very "high wealth" card like the fancier AmEx cards) then you can get maybe 10%, but I doubt you can get an ordinary credit card with less APR than that. And 10% is still a lot to be borrowing for anything other than emergencies, really. However, by signing up for new cards, you could conceivably get APR 1-2% less than whatever you currently have.



You have a 0% card, which is great! Keep using it as much as you can. It is in your interest as a consumer to borrow as much as possible on the 0% APR (provided you can ensure that you will be able to pay it off) and then move to a different 0% APR card once your current introductory period is over.






share|improve this answer






















  • 1





    "It is in your interest as a consumer to borrow as much as possible on the 0% APR (provided you can ensure that you will be able to pay it off)" Every credit card I've seen has a 0% APR if you just pay the bill in full on or before the due date every single time. So given that "you can ensure that you will be able to pay it off", any credit card will effectively have a 0% APR.

    – a CVn
    May 30 at 12:01











  • @aCVn - of course there is that. But the difference is that with an actual 0% APR you do get to carry balances which may be useful for individuals who have had unexpected expenditures on them and getting a personal loan is definitely more expensive.

    – perennial_noob
    May 30 at 21:46











  • @perennial_noob True. However, that does not mean that it's in your best interest to borrow money simply because you can. I would say it's in my best interest to have 0% APR available; but unless I'm somehow making (or saving) money by carrying a balance, it's not worth it to actually do so.

    – jpaugh
    May 31 at 18:04











  • @jpaugh - no that's not the focus of the discussion. You're right and that's basic personal finance to not spend more than you have. The point has been that there have been sudden unexpected expenses put in and extending the zero percent gives more buffer time to spread such expenses over a few months (versus paying the next month in full).

    – perennial_noob
    May 31 at 21:01














1














1










1









I don't think the bank would agree to reduce your APR. Increasing your limit is much more profitable from their perspective.



If you have a high limit, that creates the possibility that you will borrow more money, which creates the possibility that you won't be able to pay it off, which means you would pay interest in proportion to your credit - this is where the bank makes money, after all. Even if you feel that you can pay it off easily, you can always get hit with a sudden emergency.



For many people, a higher limit also has a psychological effect in that they feel like they have more money "on hand", so they allocate more of their budget to spending.



That said, you should still ask for a lower APR - they might agree due to their own customer retention policy. But it won't necessarily be because your limit went up.



As you say, having more credit increases your score. However, it doesn't increase it that much and credit score doesn't matter that much anyway (I can link questions on here if you're curious). The main effect of the credit score is that if it's really low (as in, a history of delinquency on major loans such as car or house), the bank will either refuse to give you a credit card or demand exorbitant APRs (25%+). But really high scores don't translate into better APR. Mediocre score will get you about 16%, good score will get you 12%. If you have a unique situation (qualifying for a very "high wealth" card like the fancier AmEx cards) then you can get maybe 10%, but I doubt you can get an ordinary credit card with less APR than that. And 10% is still a lot to be borrowing for anything other than emergencies, really. However, by signing up for new cards, you could conceivably get APR 1-2% less than whatever you currently have.



You have a 0% card, which is great! Keep using it as much as you can. It is in your interest as a consumer to borrow as much as possible on the 0% APR (provided you can ensure that you will be able to pay it off) and then move to a different 0% APR card once your current introductory period is over.






share|improve this answer














I don't think the bank would agree to reduce your APR. Increasing your limit is much more profitable from their perspective.



If you have a high limit, that creates the possibility that you will borrow more money, which creates the possibility that you won't be able to pay it off, which means you would pay interest in proportion to your credit - this is where the bank makes money, after all. Even if you feel that you can pay it off easily, you can always get hit with a sudden emergency.



For many people, a higher limit also has a psychological effect in that they feel like they have more money "on hand", so they allocate more of their budget to spending.



That said, you should still ask for a lower APR - they might agree due to their own customer retention policy. But it won't necessarily be because your limit went up.



As you say, having more credit increases your score. However, it doesn't increase it that much and credit score doesn't matter that much anyway (I can link questions on here if you're curious). The main effect of the credit score is that if it's really low (as in, a history of delinquency on major loans such as car or house), the bank will either refuse to give you a credit card or demand exorbitant APRs (25%+). But really high scores don't translate into better APR. Mediocre score will get you about 16%, good score will get you 12%. If you have a unique situation (qualifying for a very "high wealth" card like the fancier AmEx cards) then you can get maybe 10%, but I doubt you can get an ordinary credit card with less APR than that. And 10% is still a lot to be borrowing for anything other than emergencies, really. However, by signing up for new cards, you could conceivably get APR 1-2% less than whatever you currently have.



You have a 0% card, which is great! Keep using it as much as you can. It is in your interest as a consumer to borrow as much as possible on the 0% APR (provided you can ensure that you will be able to pay it off) and then move to a different 0% APR card once your current introductory period is over.







share|improve this answer













share|improve this answer




share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer










answered May 29 at 18:59









Money AnnMoney Ann

2,6085 silver badges16 bronze badges




2,6085 silver badges16 bronze badges











  • 1





    "It is in your interest as a consumer to borrow as much as possible on the 0% APR (provided you can ensure that you will be able to pay it off)" Every credit card I've seen has a 0% APR if you just pay the bill in full on or before the due date every single time. So given that "you can ensure that you will be able to pay it off", any credit card will effectively have a 0% APR.

    – a CVn
    May 30 at 12:01











  • @aCVn - of course there is that. But the difference is that with an actual 0% APR you do get to carry balances which may be useful for individuals who have had unexpected expenditures on them and getting a personal loan is definitely more expensive.

    – perennial_noob
    May 30 at 21:46











  • @perennial_noob True. However, that does not mean that it's in your best interest to borrow money simply because you can. I would say it's in my best interest to have 0% APR available; but unless I'm somehow making (or saving) money by carrying a balance, it's not worth it to actually do so.

    – jpaugh
    May 31 at 18:04











  • @jpaugh - no that's not the focus of the discussion. You're right and that's basic personal finance to not spend more than you have. The point has been that there have been sudden unexpected expenses put in and extending the zero percent gives more buffer time to spread such expenses over a few months (versus paying the next month in full).

    – perennial_noob
    May 31 at 21:01














  • 1





    "It is in your interest as a consumer to borrow as much as possible on the 0% APR (provided you can ensure that you will be able to pay it off)" Every credit card I've seen has a 0% APR if you just pay the bill in full on or before the due date every single time. So given that "you can ensure that you will be able to pay it off", any credit card will effectively have a 0% APR.

    – a CVn
    May 30 at 12:01











  • @aCVn - of course there is that. But the difference is that with an actual 0% APR you do get to carry balances which may be useful for individuals who have had unexpected expenditures on them and getting a personal loan is definitely more expensive.

    – perennial_noob
    May 30 at 21:46











  • @perennial_noob True. However, that does not mean that it's in your best interest to borrow money simply because you can. I would say it's in my best interest to have 0% APR available; but unless I'm somehow making (or saving) money by carrying a balance, it's not worth it to actually do so.

    – jpaugh
    May 31 at 18:04











  • @jpaugh - no that's not the focus of the discussion. You're right and that's basic personal finance to not spend more than you have. The point has been that there have been sudden unexpected expenses put in and extending the zero percent gives more buffer time to spread such expenses over a few months (versus paying the next month in full).

    – perennial_noob
    May 31 at 21:01








1




1





"It is in your interest as a consumer to borrow as much as possible on the 0% APR (provided you can ensure that you will be able to pay it off)" Every credit card I've seen has a 0% APR if you just pay the bill in full on or before the due date every single time. So given that "you can ensure that you will be able to pay it off", any credit card will effectively have a 0% APR.

– a CVn
May 30 at 12:01





"It is in your interest as a consumer to borrow as much as possible on the 0% APR (provided you can ensure that you will be able to pay it off)" Every credit card I've seen has a 0% APR if you just pay the bill in full on or before the due date every single time. So given that "you can ensure that you will be able to pay it off", any credit card will effectively have a 0% APR.

– a CVn
May 30 at 12:01













@aCVn - of course there is that. But the difference is that with an actual 0% APR you do get to carry balances which may be useful for individuals who have had unexpected expenditures on them and getting a personal loan is definitely more expensive.

– perennial_noob
May 30 at 21:46





@aCVn - of course there is that. But the difference is that with an actual 0% APR you do get to carry balances which may be useful for individuals who have had unexpected expenditures on them and getting a personal loan is definitely more expensive.

– perennial_noob
May 30 at 21:46













@perennial_noob True. However, that does not mean that it's in your best interest to borrow money simply because you can. I would say it's in my best interest to have 0% APR available; but unless I'm somehow making (or saving) money by carrying a balance, it's not worth it to actually do so.

– jpaugh
May 31 at 18:04





@perennial_noob True. However, that does not mean that it's in your best interest to borrow money simply because you can. I would say it's in my best interest to have 0% APR available; but unless I'm somehow making (or saving) money by carrying a balance, it's not worth it to actually do so.

– jpaugh
May 31 at 18:04













@jpaugh - no that's not the focus of the discussion. You're right and that's basic personal finance to not spend more than you have. The point has been that there have been sudden unexpected expenses put in and extending the zero percent gives more buffer time to spread such expenses over a few months (versus paying the next month in full).

– perennial_noob
May 31 at 21:01





@jpaugh - no that's not the focus of the discussion. You're right and that's basic personal finance to not spend more than you have. The point has been that there have been sudden unexpected expenses put in and extending the zero percent gives more buffer time to spread such expenses over a few months (versus paying the next month in full).

– perennial_noob
May 31 at 21:01





protected by JoeTaxpayer♦ May 29 at 4:09



Thank you for your interest in this question.
Because it has attracted low-quality or spam answers that had to be removed, posting an answer now requires 10 reputation on this site (the association bonus does not count).



Would you like to answer one of these unanswered questions instead?



-

Popular posts from this blog

Færeyskur hestur Heimild | Tengill | Tilvísanir | LeiðsagnarvalRossið - síða um færeyska hrossið á færeyskuGott ár hjá færeyska hestinum

Image
FæreyjarHestar færeyskahjaltlandshestinumíslenski hesturinnBretlandskolanámumenskuWikipediafæreyskuWikipediaRossið - síða um færeyska hrossið á færeysku Færeyskur hestur Úr Wikipediu, frjálsa alfræðiritinu Jump to navigation Jump to search Rani og Grani. Grani í vetrarfeldi. Færeyski hesturinn (færeyska: Føroyska rossið ) er hestur sem hefur lifað í Færeyjum í hundruði ára. Hann er smágerður, 120-132 cm á hæð, og helst skyldur hjaltlandshestinum. Hlutverk hans var að draga vagna og plóg og bera klyfjar. Hann hefur fjórar gangtegundir eins og íslenski hesturinn (þar með talið tölt) og er með fjölda litaafbrigði. Nú til dags er hann notaður til frístunda. Í lok 19. aldar voru til um 800 hross. Mö...
Read more

He _____ here since 1970 . Answer needed [closed]What does “since he was so high” mean?Meaning of “catch birds for”?How do I ensure “since” takes the meaning I want?“Who cares here” meaningWhat does “right round toward” mean?the time tense (had now been detected)What does the phrase “ring around the roses” mean here?Correct usage of “visited upon”Meaning of “foiled rail sabotage bid”It was the third time I had gone to Rome or It is the third time I had been to Rome

Image
Engineer refusing to file/disclose patents Extending the spectral theorem for bounded self adjoint operators to bounded normal operators Do varchar(max), nvarchar(max) and varbinary(max) columns affect select queries? Why is it that I can sometimes guess the next note? What linear sensor for a keyboard? Why don’t women say שלא עשני גויה and שפחה, according to Ashkenazim? Did arcade monitors have same pixel aspect ratio as TV sets? anything or something to eat Query about absorption line spectra Can I use my Chinese passport to enter China after I acquired another citizenship? Fuse symbol on toroidal transformer Create all possible words using a set or letters Does the Mind Blank spell prevent the target from being frightened? Can I sign legal documents with a smiley face? When quoting, must I also copy hyphens used to divide words that continue on the next line? ...
Read more

Slayer Innehåll Historia | Stil, komposition och lyrik | Bandets betydelse och framgångar | Sidoprojekt och samarbeten | Kontroverser | Medlemmar | Utmärkelser och nomineringar | Turnéer och festivaler | Diskografi | Referenser | Externa länkar | Navigeringsmenywww.slayer.net”Metal Massacre vol. 1””Metal Massacre vol. 3””Metal Massacre Volume III””Show No Mercy””Haunting the Chapel””Live Undead””Hell Awaits””Reign in Blood””Reign in Blood””Gold & Platinum – Reign in Blood””Golden Gods Awards Winners”originalet”Kerrang! Hall Of Fame””Slayer Looks Back On 37-Year Career In New Video Series: Part Two””South of Heaven””Gold & Platinum – South of Heaven””Seasons in the Abyss””Gold & Platinum - Seasons in the Abyss””Divine Intervention””Divine Intervention - Release group by Slayer””Gold & Platinum - Divine Intervention””Live Intrusion””Undisputed Attitude””Abolish Government/Superficial Love””Release “Slatanic Slaughter: A Tribute to Slayer” by Various Artists””Diabolus in Musica””Soundtrack to the Apocalypse””God Hates Us All””Systematic - Relationships””War at the Warfield””Gold & Platinum - War at the Warfield””Soundtrack to the Apocalypse””Gold & Platinum - Still Reigning””Metallica, Slayer, Iron Mauden Among Winners At Metal Hammer Awards””Eternal Pyre””Eternal Pyre - Slayer release group””Eternal Pyre””Metal Storm Awards 2006””Kerrang! Hall Of Fame””Slayer Wins 'Best Metal' Grammy Award””Slayer Guitarist Jeff Hanneman Dies””Bullet-For My Valentine booed at Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards””Unholy Aliance””The End Of Slayer?””Slayer: We Could Thrash Out Two More Albums If We're Fast Enough...””'The Unholy Alliance: Chapter III' UK Dates Added”originalet”Megadeth And Slayer To Co-Headline 'Canadian Carnage' Trek”originalet”World Painted Blood””Release “World Painted Blood” by Slayer””Metallica Heading To Cinemas””Slayer, Megadeth To Join Forces For 'European Carnage' Tour - Dec. 18, 2010”originalet”Slayer's Hanneman Contracts Acute Infection; Band To Bring In Guest Guitarist””Cannibal Corpse's Pat O'Brien Will Step In As Slayer's Guest Guitarist”originalet”Slayer’s Jeff Hanneman Dead at 49””Dave Lombardo Says He Made Only $67,000 In 2011 While Touring With Slayer””Slayer: We Do Not Agree With Dave Lombardo's Substance Or Timeline Of Events””Slayer Welcomes Drummer Paul Bostaph Back To The Fold””Slayer Hope to Unveil Never-Before-Heard Jeff Hanneman Material on Next Album””Slayer Debut New Song 'Implode' During Surprise Golden Gods Appearance””Release group Repentless by Slayer””Repentless - Slayer - Credits””Slayer””Metal Storm Awards 2015””Slayer - to release comic book "Repentless #1"””Slayer To Release 'Repentless' 6.66" Vinyl Box Set””BREAKING NEWS: Slayer Announce Farewell Tour””Slayer Recruit Lamb of God, Anthrax, Behemoth + Testament for Final Tour””Slayer lägger ner efter 37 år””Slayer Announces Second North American Leg Of 'Final' Tour””Final World Tour””Slayer Announces Final European Tour With Lamb of God, Anthrax And Obituary””Slayer To Tour Europe With Lamb of God, Anthrax And Obituary””Slayer To Play 'Last French Show Ever' At Next Year's Hellfst””Slayer's Final World Tour Will Extend Into 2019””Death Angel's Rob Cavestany On Slayer's 'Farewell' Tour: 'Some Of Us Could See This Coming'””Testament Has No Plans To Retire Anytime Soon, Says Chuck Billy””Anthrax's Scott Ian On Slayer's 'Farewell' Tour Plans: 'I Was Surprised And I Wasn't Surprised'””Slayer””Slayer's Morbid Schlock””Review/Rock; For Slayer, the Mania Is the Message””Slayer - Biography””Slayer - Reign In Blood”originalet”Dave Lombardo””An exclusive oral history of Slayer”originalet”Exclusive! Interview With Slayer Guitarist Jeff Hanneman”originalet”Thinking Out Loud: Slayer's Kerry King on hair metal, Satan and being polite””Slayer Lyrics””Slayer - Biography””Most influential artists for extreme metal music””Slayer - Reign in Blood””Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman dies aged 49””Slatanic Slaughter: A Tribute to Slayer””Gateway to Hell: A Tribute to Slayer””Covered In Blood””Slayer: The Origins of Thrash in San Francisco, CA.””Why They Rule - #6 Slayer”originalet”Guitar World's 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Guitarists Of All Time”originalet”The fans have spoken: Slayer comes out on top in readers' polls”originalet”Tribute to Jeff Hanneman (1964-2013)””Lamb Of God Frontman: We Sound Like A Slayer Rip-Off””BEHEMOTH Frontman Pays Tribute To SLAYER's JEFF HANNEMAN””Slayer, Hatebreed Doing Double Duty On This Year's Ozzfest””System of a Down””Lacuna Coil’s Andrea Ferro Talks Influences, Skateboarding, Band Origins + More””Slayer - Reign in Blood””Into The Lungs of Hell””Slayer rules - en utställning om fans””Slayer and Their Fans Slashed Through a No-Holds-Barred Night at Gas Monkey””Home””Slayer””Gold & Platinum - The Big 4 Live from Sofia, Bulgaria””Exclusive! Interview With Slayer Guitarist Kerry King””2008-02-23: Wiltern, Los Angeles, CA, USA””Slayer's Kerry King To Perform With Megadeth Tonight! - Oct. 21, 2010”originalet”Dave Lombardo - Biography”Slayer Case DismissedArkiveradUltimate Classic Rock: Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman dead at 49.”Slayer: "We could never do any thing like Some Kind Of Monster..."””Cannibal Corpse'S Pat O'Brien Will Step In As Slayer'S Guest Guitarist | The Official Slayer Site”originalet”Slayer Wins 'Best Metal' Grammy Award””Slayer Guitarist Jeff Hanneman Dies””Kerrang! Awards 2006 Blog: Kerrang! Hall Of Fame””Kerrang! Awards 2013: Kerrang! Legend”originalet”Metallica, Slayer, Iron Maien Among Winners At Metal Hammer Awards””Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards””Bullet For My Valentine Booed At Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards””Metal Storm Awards 2006””Metal Storm Awards 2015””Slayer's Concert History””Slayer - Relationships””Slayer - Releases”Slayers officiella webbplatsSlayer på MusicBrainzOfficiell webbplatsSlayerSlayerr1373445760000 0001 1540 47353068615-5086262726cb13906545x(data)6033143kn20030215029

Image
SlayerMusikgrupper bildade 1981Amerikanska thrash metal-grupper amerikansktthrash metalHuntington Park1981gitarristernaJeff HannemanKerry KingbasistenTom ArayatrummisenDave LombardoGary HoltPaul Bostaphcertifierats med guldMetallicaAnthraxMegadeththrash metal1986extrema metalgenrerdeath metal22 januari2018USAKanadaEuropaHuntington ParkKalifornien1981gitarristernaJeff HannemanKerry KingbassångDave Lombardoheavy metalbrittiskaIron MaidenJudas PriestthrashMetallicaRattSteeler1982demoundergroundMetal Blade1983high schoolGene HoglanDeathStrapping Young Ladkassettvinyl1984LondonMarquee Club1984Eldorado StudiosTrack Record StudiosLos Angelesmastrade1985CDCombat Recordsextreme metalVenomExodusStudio 54 club1985VHSCombat RecordsBelgienUFORick RubinDef Jam Recordship hoprockakterThe Black CrowesRun–D.M.C.LL Cool JBeastie BoysthrashbpmAngel of DeathRaining BloodAndy WallaceHowie Weinberg1986bildskivaBillboard 200RIAAMetal HammerKerrang!Angela Gossowdeath metalArch Enemythrash metalOverk...
Read more