AromaTherapy

There are plenty of credit repair negotiating secrets regardless of how good your credit is. Here are 5 tips to get you started.

There are plenty of credit repair negotiating secrets regardless of how good your credit is. Here are 5 tips to get you started.

Tip #1 Ask

We've all heard that if you ask, you will receive. It's doubly true in the credit industry because the competition is so stiff. It's expensive for credit card companies to get a new customer so they'll work hard to try and keep your business. You might be surprised what you can get just by calling and asking. If you need a reason for them to give you something, tell them you've been a good customer or that you're going through hard times. Any reason will do as long as it's true.

I know one person who called her credit card company to close the account. She was wanting to pay down her debt and didn't want to think about the possibility that she might use the card again. The company made her all kinds of offers from lower interest to lower payments. It reminded me of an outright settlement. In this economy, creditor are becoming more flexible because it's harder to make the same profit they did before.

Tip #2 Don't max out all your cards

When you have an available spending limit, you can do a balance transfer from a higher rate card. If you're interested in raising your credit limits, keep your balances around 30%. That way, you let the credit card companies make some money on interest and show you can manage your credit well.

Tip #3 Make credit card companies fight for you

Having a better deal somewhere else is a great way to get a better deal. As competitive as things are out there, creditors know it might not take much for you to go get that deal. You have much more leverage though if you already have that better deal in hand. Then they know you're ready to act and they better do something to keep you. If you've left space, you can go ahead and transfer your balances to the one with the best rate. Then go back to them and offer to transfer the balance back if they give you a better deal.

Tip #4 Maintain better credit

This probably doesn't need much explanation. The more credit worthy better customer you are, the better deal you'll get. If something happens so you can't make all your payments, prioritize things. It might make more sense to stay current on your best accounts and let the bad ones slide this time. Of course don't loose any collateral in the process.

Tip #5 Do the math

There are plenty of things you can negotiate besides the interest rate. You need to factor in how long you'll have any given interest rate, whether there are any annual fees or any other fees, if there are any rewards for using the card, etc. If a company gives you frequent flier points on top of a 7% rate, that might be better than a card with an annual fee, 5% and no rewards.

The key to negotiating is to know what you want and keep working until you get it. Remember that creditors need customers and will fight to get and keep you. Use that to get what you want.