Has your new credit card surprised you with unexpected fees?
What Can You Do About Credit Card Fees?
If you found fees on your new credit card, it may have been a surprise, but it was in the tiny fine print the credit card company didn’t want you to see. Now that you have this credit card they hope you accept the fees and use their card.
In a way they have you. Canceling a credit card will often lower your credit score for a short period, and canceling a credit card limits a person’s ability to build more credit. Also, if you cancel a credit card, you may experience more difficulty in getting a new and better offer with fewer fees. There are two reasons for this. The first being when you cancel a credit card you throw off your debt to credit ratio. You lose the credit line you have established, and you will now have more debt on your file compared to open credit or unused credit. The second reason it may be harder to get a credit card is that you applied for this credit card and perhaps others. You may have acquired multiple credit inquiries on your credit file which will lower your three credit scores.
Now you know the possible repercussions for canceling your new credit card. What can be done about removing these fees from your credit cards? Well in many if not most cases, nothing. Fees are stated in the small print. This makes many credit card fees trying to remove. In some cases, it is possible to have some fees removed.
Surprise Credit Card Fees and How to Remove Them
When you call a credit card company, you need to convey that you plan to cancel your credit card whether that is true or not. When a customer service operator encounters a possible cancellation, they or their manager have some ability to compromise with the card holder. Remember the whole point for a credit card company is to have good long account relationships with cardholders. If there is a way to maintain accounts and goodwill, they will work with you.
Always treat the person you are talking to with respect. They are doing their job and following company policies. You may find that being respectful and stating the facts of your situation may help you better to reach the outcome you hope for.
Sometimes winning is getting half of what you want. A good example of this would be an annual fee. If after receiving your credit card you receive a bill for a fifty dollar annual fee call your credit card company. You may be able to negotiate the fee to 0 or half of the annual fee. You have more ability to get this done if you have excellent credit or if this credit card is not a reward credit card. Individual reward credit cards are terrible to have the annual fee removed or cut in half. An example of such a credit card is an airline credit card.
A fee that is relatively easy to have removed is a late payment fee. If this is your first late payment, you can usually have the fee removed with any credit card company. Each bank operates differently on how many fees you can have waived in a year. The longer you hold your account, and depending on your account history, will determine how many fees you will be able to have waived. Even if you didn’t know the credit card you applied for came with late payment fees, and it should not in any way be considered a surprise credit card fee.
If you were shocked by the credit card interest fees on your credit card the only thing you can do in the future is to read all the fine print before applying carefully. If you are confused about certain wording, you can go as far as calling the credit card company before applying. Some fees cannot be removed as a new cardholder. If you hold the credit card, you have now for a year or more you should be able to eliminate some fees. The annual fee sometimes can be removed after a year. One year or more of good on-time payment history can help reduce some of these credit card fees.
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