A better APR out of existing Credit Card?

[peanutbuttermarmite]

I've noticed that Lloyds are offering a credit card for 9.9 percent APR - I've had the same card for 20 years, and the APR is 15 percent. Now I could easily close this credit card and get a new one but has anyone had any luck calling them up and getting them to amend the APR? I'd rather not have to apply for a new one, seems a bit silly. I hadn't realised you have to vigilantly shop credit cards around as you do utilities. Dim!

Why don't you switch to a 0% card?

Do you carry a balance on your card? If yes, it would be better to transfer it to a 0% card and pay it off.

If no, as in you pay it off in full every month, it doesn't matter what the APR is because you never pay any interest. This is the ideal way to use a credit card.

If occasionally go into overdraft, it might be best moving whatever spending is making you go overdrawn to a credit card (or avoid the spend altogether) as from soon, nearly all overdrafts will be 40% interest.

But if you occasionally use a credit card and carry a balance, the interest difference between 9.9 and 15% won't be that great, so for occasional borrowing, you might decide it's not worth the effort.. The other thing to watch out for is that sometimes, low rate cards don't have an interest free payment, so you pay interest even if you do pay it off.

Phone and ask. It’s a perfectly reasonable question and some banks/CC companies will do it.

Alternatively, they might offer a trouble free switch to a new card and carry your credit limit and any balance over.

I phoned - they said they can’t change aprs on existing cards. We generally pay off but we do sometimes carry a balance for a few months, I found several better deals so looks like just need to switch.

They do seem to be missing a trick not to do a loyalty adjustment - must save them transaction costs. I can apply for a new Lloyd’s card at the better rate and close old one down...

I suppose they make more money out of inertia and people not realising they can get better rates though or wanting the hassle of changing cards.