Lowering Your Credit Card Interest Rate

Susan Koeppen Tackles That Topic, Other Queries From Viewers In "Ask It Early"

(CBS)  How can I get my crtedit card interest rate lowered?

That was among the questions answered Friday by Early Show consumer correspondent Susan Koeppen in the latest installment of her series, "Ask It Early."

Viewers send Susan videos of themselves posing the questions, and she picks some to answer on the broadcast.

Matt from Miami asks, "Where in my city can I find the cheapest gas prices?

There is a great Web site you can use. In www.gasbuddy.com, you will find a map. Click on your state, then your city, and that will bring you to a list of the cheapest gas stations in your area.

How can I lower my credit card interest rate?

Even if we weren't in a recession, you should always try to get the lowest interest rate possible. All you have to do is -- call your credit card company and ask for it! Also, before signing up for a credit card, you can go to the Web site creditcards.com and check a list of the cards available with the lowest rates.

I do a lot of online shopping and I was wondering if there was any way to save money by getting online codes for free shipping?

There are great Web sites for that, such as currentcodes.com and discountcodes.com, where you can find codes for many stores. If you don't find your favorite store there, you can always Google the name of the store and the words "discount code."

To see the segment and get more insight from Koeppen, click on the arrow in the image below.

[couponheaven]

Many web site offer free coupon codes, and any search engine will provide more than enough results if you type in the merchant name along with the term "coupons" or "coupon codes." Coupon web sites provide this information for free, and most do not require any type of registration. Some merchants, like Walmart, never offer coupons, so a search will yield no codes. Once you get the hang of using coupon codes, you might want to make a favorites ''shopping'' folder where you bookmark your favorite coupon sites. We hope you will include CouponHeaven.com. Our URL is: http://www.couponheaven.com/

[puzzler125]

The article made it sound like you will automatically get a reduction in your credit card interest rate by calling. I called Sears to ask for a lower interest rate and was told: 1. "No" and 2. Stores don''t do that, only bank credit cards do that.

[tmarsh7463]

ok so i have been credit card holder this one company for 10 yrs and paid off total balance at least 2 times. im having a tough time (still making payments)and tried calling to see if they would lower my interest and they flat out told me no, i was never late w/ them and i closed the account. so then they raised it 27% interest .now if im calling to get a lower payment what makes them think i can afford that? i want to pay off what i owe but theyre forcing me to have a tougher time and not pay at all. it doesnt seem fair they can do this. please help

[angelicbrat07]

I recieved credit counseling through this one website www.freerateupdate.com/credit-card-debt They lowered my rate without even hurting my credit score! Hope this helps!

[contagiousLA]

If you find yourself in so deep you don't think you can dig yourself out of debt, I would recommend talking with a specialist who can negotiate with your banks on your behalf. A friend of mine used these guys and they have turned around his family's life.

http://DebtBeyond.com

Good luck!