Negotiations. There are people in the world who love confrontation and are OK when others do no like them them. I'm not one of those people. I hate confrontation. But then again, I've notice that the older I get, the bolder I become.

There are plenty of situations in life where "rocking the boat" is OK. And one of those situations is negotiating your credit card interest rates. By negotiating better rates, you will be able to accelerate your debt even faster and hopefully become debt free before you know it.

So, rather than going on and on about how beneficial credit card interest rate negotiations are, I'm going to just jump right into it.

Here is a script you can follow in order to negotiate your credit card interest rates:

First, if you are receiving offers from other credit card companies with low introductory rates, use this as leverage. If not, go online and find some other cards that offer low rates. Write down the name of the company and the rate they are offering.

Second, call your credit card company. Yes, this means picking up the phone and talking to a human. Emails and "contact us" forms will just not get the job done.

Script Example:

You: Hi, my name is ______________. I have been a customer of yours for X years and have a good history of making my payments.

Credit Card Rep: Great, how may I help you today?

You: I am in the process of paying off my credit card debt and as a part of that, I would like to lower my APR. I have had several other companies offer me X%  rates and I'd hate to have to switch my balance over to them since I have been a faithful customer of yours for X years. Are you able to lower my rate by 50% or only 40% today?

Credit Card Rep: Well, let me pull up your account here... It looks like we are unable to offer you a lower rate, but I can give you the payment protection plan for free.

You: No no. That's not what I need. Like I said, I really need to have my rates lowered by at least 40% today, otherwise I am going to have to transfer my balance to another company. Can you retain my business by offering a rate that is comparable to these other companies, or can you go even lower them?

Credit Card Rep: Let me see what I can do here... Well, now it looks like the system is letting me change your rate. (Amazing!- It's a miracle!). Your new rate will appear on your next statement in the amount of X%. Is there anything else I can do for you today?

You: No. Thank you very much.

Did you notice any of the techniques that were used? Let's break it down to better understand the art of negotiating credit card interest rates. Here are a few of the key elements:

• Build credibility by emphasizing that you have been a faithful customer.
• Tell them straight up what you are trying to do and what you want.
• Use the offers from other companies as leverage. Competitive capitalism is a powerful force.
• When you ask a question, do not ask one that can be answered by "yes" or "no." Give them two choices to choose from. "...by 50% or only 40% today?", "...offering a rate that is comparable... or can you go even lower?"
• Don't take no for answer. Too many people give up at this point. Keep pushing and reemphasize the points you made before.
• Politely "threaten" to switch to another company.

If you have any credit card debt at all, this is definitely something you should try. Hey, even if you only have a 50/50 chance of success, it's still worth trying, right?

Do you have experience negotiating credit card interest rates? What has or has not worked for you in the past?