How to Increase Your Interest Rate

Would you like to pay higher interest rates on your credit cards? You're in luck, I have experience with getting higher rates and I'm going to share some strategies with you.

1. Default
   The easiest way to increase your interest rates is to default. Go over the credit limit or make a late payment. Technically not paying is easier than charging more, but really either one will work just fine. As a bonus you'll get huge fees and if any of your other cards have universal default policies, those rates will go up too!
   
   
2. Approach The Credit Limit
   So you want to play by the rules and still get high interest rates? Some companies will grant you higher rates just by carrying a balance near the credit limit. This will take a little longer than number 1. They want to wait a few months to make sure that this isn't a fluke. Then they might test the waters by giving you a couple points here and there to make sure you aren't going to start paying the balance down. A sure fire way to give them confidence is number 3.
   
   
3. Make Minimum Payments
   Making minimum payments shows the credit card companies that you don't mind paying finance charges. The higher the interest rate, the longer you can have this relationship. Expect increases in your interest rate as a token of their appreciation. I have experienced this with both Chase and Discover, they love the 2-3 combo. My rates increased 200-300% using these two rules alone!
   
   
4. Don't Read the Fine Print
   This one is one of my favorites, because hey, who reads that crap anyways! When Washington Mutual bought my PayPal card they offered to raise my 19% rate up to 33.45% with absolutely no effort on my part. Unfortunately I read the fine print, wrote a letter to stop the change in terms, and had my account closed (at 19%). If I would have just left that fine print insert alone I would have been on the fast track to 33.45%. Maybe next time...

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*Commenter, John Liability asks...

This is all helpful stuff, but what I'm really looking for are ways to radically reduce my credit score and shift my debt from large financial institutions to more aggressive debt-collection agencies. Any advice for someone in my position?

Very valid concerns you have there, John. Luckily, Moolanomy has a post that may help with your credit score: 10 Ways to Completely Ruin Your Credit. Unfortunately, I have absolutely no experience with collections of any sort. Perhaps you could do some field research and provide a guest post?