Hi all,

Ok, by following your advice, I decided to get brave and try for a limit increase and/or an APR reduction from Aria. Here's how it went.

I told the first rep that got on the line that I had had the card for 4 months and that although I had used it, I didn't realize how much the high APR was costing me. (My pattern of use is charge, pay well over the minimum due, but still leave a small balance so that they make some money from me). She asked me to hold and passed me to a supervisor. The supervisor explained that the APR was a "fixed" amount and couldn't be reduced. I told her that I know others who've been granted reductions, but she refused saying there must have been specific reasons for those reductions and that she could not reduce the rate. She also said that since this was a new product for them, they didn't have anything available to upgrade to but they were working on that. As for the limit increase, she told me that since I had only had the card for three complete billing cycles (I'm 6 days away from my fourth billing cycle) at this point she couldn't do anything about the credit limit, but assured me that once the next billing cycle hit I could be reviewed for a limit increase. I bluffed and told her I had received another card with another company at a higher limit and a better APR. Again she stated that when the next billing cycle hit I could be offered a limit increase. (I think she said it would be written notification). For a least making the inquiries, she did offer to return my $89.00 annual fee (I'm glad at least something came out of this conversation), which I gladly accepted.

Ok guys. I know from the posts I've read here that a lot of you have had success getting the same things I tried to get. What are your suggestions? Do you think a call to retention in about 1 week would be a good idea? At that point, once the $89.00 is credited back, my balance will be $90.00. Any ideas?

Thanks,
CR