Being a good customer has its rewards. You never know when you might need to ask your card company for a favor. Whether you want them to waive a fee or raise your credit limit, having a good track record with your company is going to pay off. But what does being a good customer really mean? How often are we really in contact with our card company? For most of us its probably not often unless we find a mistake or unauthorized charge on our statement. Being a good customer doesn’t mean we need to contact our credit card company in our spare time, but rather just do simple things most of us probably do anyway. As a matter of fact, being a good customer will end up benefiting the card user more so than anyone else. Here are a few ways you can be a good credit card customer.
- Make Your Payments On Time
The first step in being a good customer is to make your payments on time. Forming a good relationship with your card company means to abide by the terms and conditions of the card and part of that involves making your payment on time. Not to mention that paying on time also helps your credit. - Don’t Exceed Your Credit Limit
Staying under your credit limit demonstrates your a responsible card user. In the event your card company needs to review your account history in order to make future lending decisions, staying under your limit is only going to help you. Plus, staying under your limit means no costly over-the-limit fees either. It will also help you when it comes to your debt to credit ration and your credit score. - Be Polite
In the event you have to call your card company you should “kill them with kindness”. Now this might be easier said than done, especially if its your fifth time calling within 24 hours. The truth is the better your treat the customer service representative the more they are going to do for you. Ask anyone that has worked a customer service job and they will echo these same sentiments. - Don’t Ask For Excessive Credits
If you establish yourself as a customer that is always asking for unnecessary credits then you might be out of luck when you need it the most. For example, you can ask your card company for credits when it comes to fees like annual fees, late fees, over-the-limit fees. You might be surprised but your card company will often be happy to waive a fee for you on occasion.
Being a good customer is going to benefit you in more ways than not. First of all, by making payments on time and not exceeding your credit limit is going to help your credit. We all know the importance of a good credit score and by being a good customer your going to be doing some of the things that are required to have good credit. In addition, if your a good customer your going to get better offers from your card company. Your credit history, especially your history with your company, is going to be a factor when it is time to get a better interest rate, a higher credit limit, or even a lower annual fee.
[...] Sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn’t, but it’s worth a try. If you have been a good customer by paying your bills on time and staying under your limit, then your card company might just work [...]