Out of curiosity I called my credit card company (Chase) to see if I qualified for a lower APR (currently my purchase APR is 13.24% and cash APR is 19.24%). The card is also a "rewards" card, which typically carries a slightly higher APR. According to Consumer Reports, the median (purchase) APR on commonly-used credit cards is currently 14%. The representative I spoke with said they couldn't offer me anything lower, but she would give me 3000 points towards my "rewards." She also said that they are typically offering lower APRs only on "introductory" offers. I'm not really interested in switching cards, because have not had a lot of problems with Chase. The other thing the customer service rep did was explain that if I used my card during July, I would automatically get 3 reward points per transaction. (I just purchased airline tickets this past month, but of course they weren't offering the promotion then).

I've had this card since the 1980s (mainly because they were the first credit card I qualified for). In all that time I've missed one payment, and my credit rating is good to excellent. Typically we use it for things like travel, larger ticket purchases, and occasional dining/shopping, pay most of it off, and carry a small balance (nowhere near the credit limit).

I wonder if this is typical of other peoples' experience with their credit card companies.