84% of Cardholders Who Asked for a Lower APR Got One — but Fewer People Are Asking

Written by  Matt Schulz

Edited by  Dan Shepard

+ 1 More

Published Jun 04, 2026 Content was accurate at the time of publication.

Fewer cardholders asked for a lower interest rate, a waived late fee, or a waived or reduced annual fee on a credit card in the past year, even as the success rates for most of those requests continued to climb.

This is the sixth straight year LendingTree has asked credit cardholders whether they’ve requested certain breaks — including reduced APRs and waived fees — from their credit card issuer and whether they were successful. Once again, our survey reveals that your chances of getting your request granted are sky-high, though too few people take advantage by asking.

I was surprised that fewer people asked this year than last. According to our survey, most cardholders say inflation has made them more likely to ask for breaks, and many even report getting their interest rate reduced or a fee waived without having to talk to an actual person.

Here’s what else we found.

84% of cardholders who asked for a lower interest rate on a credit card in the past year were successful, the highest on record

Of all the requests on this list, none is potentially more impactful than asking for a lower interest rate on a credit card. It’s also one of the most likely to be successful.

If you’re willing to ask, your chances of success are likely far greater than you’d imagine. Our latest survey found that 84% of cardholders who asked for a lower rate in the past year got one. That success rate means that it isn’t just people with 800 credit scores and high incomes who are getting their way. Regular people are, too.

This isn’t a new phenomenon, either. Yes, this is the highest success rate we’ve seen since we started tracking this data in 2021, but the percentages have been high throughout the study’s six-year history. The success rate has dipped below 76% just once, falling to 70% in 2022.

If you’re successful, it can save you $1,000 or more, depending on how much you owe.

Here’s how:

That’s a savings of $1,346 from a single request — all from simply asking.

Issuers are increasingly waiving late fees, foreign transaction fees and balance transfer fees

Lower interest rates aren’t the only breaks credit card issuers are giving more often these days. They’re also waiving or reducing many different types of fees for those who ask. 

More than 9 in 10 (92%) requests to waive a late fee were granted in the past year. That’s up three points from 2025 and is the highest percentage seen since we began tracking this data.

For the next two requests — waived or reduced foreign transaction fees and balance transfer fees — we asked whether cardholders had ever successfully made those requests. For all other categories, we asked about success in the past year.

Travelers will be happy to know that card issuers are becoming more willing to waive or reduce foreign transaction fees. Nearly two-thirds of people (64%) who’ve ever made that request have been successful, up nine points from last year and matching 2024’s record high.

A foreign transaction fee is an extra charge that some credit cards add when you buy something in another country or in a foreign currency. It typically amounts to 1% to 3% of the purchase amount, or $10 to $30 for every $1,000 spent. During an international vacation, those fees can add up quickly, so getting them waived can bring significant savings.

Card issuers are also increasingly waiving balance transfer fees. In this year’s survey, 61% of people who’ve ever asked for a waived or reduced balance transfer fee have been successful, up from 51% a year ago.

These fees can be even more costly than late fees or foreign transaction fees. The typical balance transfer fee is 3% to 5% of the transferred balance, or $30 to $50 for every $1,000. That means that someone who successfully gets the fee waived on a $5,000 balance transfer could save $150 to $250. For someone struggling with credit card debt, that can make a major difference.

Annual fees are slightly less likely to be waived or reduced than a year ago, but your chances are still sky-high

More than 9 in 10 cardholders (94%) who asked to have a credit card’s annual fee waived or reduced in the past year got their way.

That’s a stunningly high number, though it’s down a point from last year’s record high of 95%. Still, it’s the second-highest percentage in the six years we’ve asked the question. During that time, we’ve never seen a success rate lower than 90%.

Nearly 4 in 10 cardholders have had fees waived or rates lowered without talking to a real person

There are countless possible reasons for not asking to have your rate lowered or a fee waived, but often the most common ones are the simplest: People don’t know they can ask, don’t know how to ask or don’t think it’ll work if they do. Others don’t feel comfortable negotiating with people.

However, that last concern is becoming less and less relevant. Our latest survey found that 39% of cardholders have gotten a fee waived or an interest rate reduced without speaking to a real person. That includes 22% who say they’ve done it more than once. 

My experience mirrors that of the 22%. I had two credit card late fees waived in 2025 without speaking to anyone. I called the number on the back of my card, intending to ask a representative to remove the fee. Before I could reach anyone, the automated system asked whether I was calling about a late fee. I answered yes, and the system told me that they’d be willing to waive the fee. After following a few additional prompts, the fee was removed. 

Fewer cardholders asked for breaks, despite more than half saying inflation would make them more likely to ask

One of the goals of this report — and the myriad interviews I’ve done on this topic over the years — is to show people that asking for these types of breaks can work. Yes, it can be worth the time and the sweaty palms to contact your credit card issuer and ask for a lower rate or a waived fee.

For the past several years, it appeared that people were getting the message.

There was still a long way to go, but the trend was moving unmistakably in the right direction. Until this year.

The percentage of late payers who asked to have a late fee waived fell from 60% to 54%. The percentage of annual fee cardholders who asked to have that fee waived or reduced dipped from 39% to 37%. And the percentage of cardholders who asked for a lower APR dipped from 25% to 23%.

The declines are somewhat surprising, given that more than half of cardholders (52%) agree that inflation has made them more likely to ask. That includes 23% who strongly agree.

Tips for successfully asking for a break from your card issuer

The good news is that you don’t need perfect credit, a huge income or years of negotiation experience to successfully ask for a break from your credit card issuer. In many cases, simply asking politely and being prepared can go a long way. 

Here are a few tips that can improve your odds:

Methodology

LendingTree commissioned QuestionPro to conduct an online survey of 2,000 U.S. consumers ages 18 to 80 on May 4-6, 2026. The survey was administered using a nonprobability-based sample, and quotas were used to ensure the sample base represented the overall population. Researchers reviewed all responses for quality control. 

We defined generations as the following ages in 2026: