Money Rehab with Nicole Lapin - How to Negotiate with Your Credit Card Company (1 Year Anniversary Episode)

Episode Date: April 5, 2022

Pop Quiz— do you know why today is special? The OG Money Rehabbers will know… it is the one year anniversary of Money Rehab!  To celebrate, we’re going to rebroadcast the very first episode of Money Rehab. Even one year (to the day) later, this advice rings as true as the day we released it: if you’re not negotiating, you’re leaving money on the table. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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money is working as hard as you do. So why overcomplicate your money? Keep it simple with Bank of America, your one-stop shop for everything you need today and the goals you're working toward tomorrow. To get started, visit bofa.com slash newprosmedia. That's b-o-f-a dot com slash n-e-w pros p-r-o-s media. bfa.com slash newprosmedia. Pop quiz. Do you know why today is so special? The OG Money Rehabbers will definitely know. It is the one-year anniversary of Money Rehab. Yep, the very first episode of the show came out April 5th, 2021. And we have put out an episode every single Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday since then. We haven't missed a single day. Despite getting the flu multiple times, Penny scratching the shit out of my cornea, getting into a car accident, losing my voice,

and all of the other Cuckoo Bananas life things that were thrown at me in the last year, we have not missed a single day. And to those of you who have been here since day one, can you believe it has been a year? I mean, we do not look a day over 100 episodes, and yet we are 260 and counting. So to celebrate, we're going to rebroadcast the very first episode of Money Rehab. Even one year to the day later, this advice rings as true as the day we released it. If you are not negotiating, you're leaving money on the table. So let's travel back in time to money episode number one. Hey, guys, are you ready for some money rehab?

Wall Street has been completely upended by an unlikely player, GameStop. And should I have a 401k? You don't do it? No, I never do it. unlikely player, GameStop. I am so excited to welcome you to the first episode of Money Rehab. I know, right? You never forget your first. I am never going to forget this. I hope you don't either. Here's the deal with the show.

I am going to rehab your wallet. It's exactly what the title says. This is Money Rehab so that you can get your financial shit together once and for all. And on this road to recovery, I am going to be your sponsor. And just like any good sponsor in any recovery program, I can talk the talk because I've been exactly where you are. I've been broke. I have had debt.

A lot of it. I didn't come from money. I didn't have someone talk to me about stocks and bonds growing up. In fact, when my boyfriend in high school said he wanted to be a hedge fund manager, I thought the dude wanted to be in gardening. So I was totally clueless about money. I didn't negotiate when I should have. I didn't ask for raises when I should have. I have had a ton of bad, bad money habits that I have rehabbed on my own. And that's the thing. We don't learn this stuff in school, so I needed to learn it in the school of hard knocks. And I want to now share everything I learned because it's actually not that

complicated. I mean, I want to give you the cheat code that I wish I had when I was rehabbing my own financial life. I've decided to devote my entire career to this because it angers me that we do not learn this stuff, that we don't talk about financial literacy. How the heck are we supposed to figure it out? Not only figure it out, but thrive. That's why I wrote my New York Times bestselling book, Rich Bitch. That is why I started the money school, because I was complaining so much, we don't learn this stuff in school. I just created my own school as the most unlikely professor. And yeah, even though I'm the least likely money expert or money professor. I have, to be fair, gotten all of my financial certifications since the time I needed money rehab. I then went on to anchor on CNBC. I anchored at CNN during

the financial crisis. I anchored a show on Bloomberg. But those weren't my people. You are my people. I wanted to talk to you, my former self, the girl who was smiling and nodding and not joining basic money conversations, the girl that basically broke out into hives when any financial stuff came up in conversation. And that's why I am here with you, because I know what you're going through through and I want to give you the help I wish I had. And I promise if I can do it, so can you. So today we have a question from a listener named Elena C. I just wanted to know what are some of the regular recurring bills that come up for me every month that I can try to negotiate? Thank you. So, Elena, this is a great question. It's one I get a lot. But if you're not negotiating

everything, you're really leaving money on the table. I think you know generally you can negotiate your cell phone bill or your cable bill, whether you've done it or not is a different story. But everything is actually negotiable. Seriously, medical debt, negotiable. Your car loan, negotiable. The APR on your credit card, oh my God, the APR on your credit card is really the first place that you should put your energy. If you're like, I don't have time to do all the bills, do the APR on your credit card first. So many financial experts that honestly drive me crazy will tell you to cut out the morning latte.

They might scream at you and say, do not buy that $5 latte. If you cut it out, you will find financial freedom or something like that. I want to bang my head against the wall when I hear that because it's terrible advice. A financial diet is a lot like a regular diet. If you don't allow yourself small indulgences because you work your ass off so you get a little treat for yourself in that latte, you will binge on something bigger later on. So what do you think is going to be more important to your overall finances? Cutting out $5 lattes or getting a few percentage points off

the interest rate on your credit card, knowing how interest rates snowball, that is going to save you way more money than all the lattes in all the land. Most people do not think they can negotiate this. They think they see this fancy piece of paper from a bank or a credit card company with their interest rate, and that is set in stone. That is not true. There was a recent study that shows customers who ask their credit card companies for something, so a lower interest rate, or their annual fees dropped, or their late payment waived. That study found that half of people who asked got something. But you have to ask because the answer is always no if you don't ask. This becomes so addicting. Honestly,

it's my favorite sport. It's maybe the only cardio I'm doing these days. Here are the big things you should remember when you're calling your credit card company. First of all, talk yourself up. Say you have been super loyal. You've been a customer for X number of years. You have an amazing credit score. You have always paid your bills on time. And then second, emphasize the competitor's rate. This works really well when it comes to your lease or your car loan in particular. Say your friend gets a better rate at their competitor. Say they're offering XYZ. That is your leverage. And then the third thing to do is throw out a lower interest rate. And if they say no, which they probably will to start, that's how negotiations work,

then ask for their manager. And then ask for their manager's manager. And just keep going up the chain until you get to the bat phone of the CEO, if you want. I mean, be a dog on a bone with it. If you get to the very end, I mean, if you've been on the phone for an hour, you can ask for something else. Just say, hey, can you do something about the fees? Can you do something about late payments?

Can you do something about the annual membership? Can you upgrade me to a better card? There's always something else like a perks option that's not the actual monetary option, but is still going to be really valuable to you. And at the very end, you can say, hey, listen, you know, Mrs. CEO, I am going to leave your company for another company if I don't get something here once and for all. Say that you're going to leave, but honestly, just between us, if you really don't want something here once and for all. Say that you're going to leave, but honestly, just between us, if you really don't want to leave

and they really call your bluff, like let's say you're talking to the CEO at the very end and they're like, hey, we can't give you anything at all. Final answer, period, end of story. If you actually really don't want to leave and you're just saying that for leverage, first, you're my hero. Second, you can always at the end

just say, okay, cool. Got to go. Bye. I really want you to start. Just try. Pick up the phone. They're not going to arrest you. They're not going to mess up your credit score for asking. Remember that companies would rather throw you a bone versus losing you as a customer. So I've told you a lot about how to negotiate, but now I'm going to show you how it is done. A while back, Dr. Oz asked me to help his friend Tia negotiate some of her bills. You know I'm not one to back down from a challenge, especially a money one. I sat down with Tia while we called her credit card company, expecting we could get her APR lowered a little and hoping we could get it slashed by a lot. Here's how it went down.

All right, Tia, ask them what they're offering new customers. Okay. What rate are you offering new customers? So each person is different and just based on their history. So I mean, we rarely have like the same set rates for everyone, but I can definitely take a look into it. That's the sound of me muting the call. I was right there with her, kind of like a little money angel on her shoulder, or maybe a devil, whispering negotiation tactics in her ear. Remember, you're always allowed to take a break if you need a moment to strategize. State your case. Tell them why you're a good customer. Okay, gotcha. Well, I've been a loyal customer for about 10 years.

I always pay my bill on time. I always keep a low balance. I'd really like to get a lower rate. You're doing everything correct. You're paying, you know, on time. There's just a lot of factors that go into the APR. Sometimes they want to see who's going to break first. It's like a game of negotiating chicken. It's like a game of negotiating chicken. You've got this. They cannot outlast you. Hang in there. Do what you have to do.

Take a Candy Crush break if you have to scroll through Instagram. Ask what you want or you'll walk away. Ask for a manager. Can I speak to a manager? Sure, you may just a moment. Thank you. Hi, Melissa. Thank you so much for your help.

I understand we want to look and see if we can get that interest rate lower for you. Absolutely. Do you mind if I place you in a brief hold and see what I can do for you? Absolutely. Thank you. It's already been like four minutes. Hopefully that's a good sign. I'm not going to give up. That's my money and I'm fighting for it.

No means yes. That's right. So the lowest I could get it to was $12.49. That's going to be for existing balance and new purchases. There's no time frame on that. Okay. Would you like to accept that? Yes, I accept that. Okay, fantastic.

I know you weren't there, but we were silently celebrating and making our yay faces at each other. All right, thank you so much. I appreciate your time. Thank you so much, Nicole. You did such a good job, Tia. I'm so proud of you. We did so well. We did so well. And with that, we stitched up our negotiation, left the financial OR, so to speak, and headed to our debrief with Dr. Oz. I was anxious. And you're also surprised because you're not paying attention. You kind of think that you

know a little bit about what's going on with your money. And then when you look at the numbers, you're like, oh, my goodness. And you have to keep pushing. And I think that that's the biggest thing that Nicole encouraged me to do. And I encourage everyone else to do. Ask for the manager. Keep making your demands. You are the customer. They need you.

Yeah. And you started with 1%. You were happy with that. At first, they gave me 1%. And then she's like, ask for a manager. And I was like, OK, we'll keep pushing. And then the manager was like, you know what? After the 10-minute hold, we're going to give you three.

It's worth it. Thank you to Dr. Oz for calling in the money doctor. And, of course, thank you to Tia for doing so great, braving that call and really crushing it. For today's tip, you can take straight to the bank. Everything is negotiable. So start having those conversations today. Leverage your selling points. Talk about how awesome you are, how long you've been a loyal customer. I mean, pull out all the stops. Likely the worst thing that will happen is that they'll

say no, but chances are they'll throw you some sort of boat. I'll link more negotiating tips in our show notes and on our Instagram at money rehab show. I even have some scripts that you can follow if you get stumped. Thank you so much for participating in our APR show and tell today. I'll meet you right back here tomorrow for some more money rehab. In the meantime, don't do anything with your money. I wouldn't do unless of course it's fighting for it. Special thanks to Dr. Oz and the whole Dr. Oz team for letting us use the clip of me negotiating with Tia. Money Rehab is a production of iHeartMedia. I'm your host, Nicole Lappin.

Our producers are Morgan Lavoie and Catherine Law. Money Rehab is edited and engineered by Brandon Dickert with help from Josh Fisher. Executive producers are Mangesh Hatikadur and Will Pearson. Huge thanks to the OG Money Rehab supervising producer, Michelle Lanz, for her pre-production and development work. And as always, thanks to you for finally investing in yourself so that you can get it together and get it all.