Have the recent CARD act made reduced the likelihood of getting a rate reduction if you call and ask the card company's service department?
1 Answer
I don't know that this can actually be answered objectively. Maybe it can with some serious research. (Read: data on what the issuers have been doing since the law went into affect.)
Personally, I think the weak economy and general problems with easy credit are a bigger issue than the new rules. Supposedly, there is evidence that card issuers are trying to make up for the lost income due to the new regulations with higher fees. I believe that your credit rating and history with the issuer is a larger factor now. In other words, they may be less likely to lower your rate just to keep you as a customer or to attract new customers.
According to The Motley Fool, issuers dropped their riskiest customers as a result of the new regulations.
Some say that new laws simply motivated the issuers to find new ways to "gouge" their customers.
Here are two NYTimes blog posts about the act:
http://bucks.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/22/what-the-credit-card-act-means-for-you/
http://bucks.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/22/the-effects-of-the-credit-card-act/
As JohnFx states, it does not hurt to ask.