Credit Card Fees Are Negotiable

At Billshark, we believe that the squeaky wheel gets the grease and that’s the key to consumers fight against “the man.” According to a creditcards.com survey of 952 American cardholders, 84% of people who called to negotiate their fee were successful in getting a reduction. Despite these very high success rates, a different statistic jumped out at the Sharks: only 1 in 4 people actually called to try and negotiate any of their credit card fees. The various negotiations included late payment fees, lower interest rate, higher credit limit, and annual fees.

More than half – about 51% – of the responders who called their credit card company were able to get their annual fee completely waived. An additional 31% got their fee reduced. Considering that only 10% of responders actually asked to have their fee waived or reduced, it’s clear that cardholders don’t think that credit card fees are negotiable.

The important thing to remember is that trying to lower your fees, bills or other financial commitments is always a good idea. The Sharks believe that everything is negotiable!