Credit Cards

Listen When dealing with credit cards, there are some things you need to know how to say. I will cover things like applying for a credit card, checking balances of a credit card, asking for a credit limit increase, and closing a credit card.

Listen When you apply for a credit card, you usually don’t need to say anything. Usually, you just fill out a form and send it in. But in case you need to speak with someone, you can ask the following questions:
‘What is the interest rate of the credit card?’
‘What will my limit be?’
‘How soon will I know if I am approved?’
‘Can I have an extra card for my spouse?’

Listen Here are some sentences you can use when you already have a credit card and you want to check your balance. You will need to call the 800 number on the card and when you have a representative on the phone, you can ask:
‘I would like to check my balance.’
‘What is my current balance?’
‘Can you check my balance for me?’
‘What is the minimum amount I owe for this month?’

Listen After having a credit card for awhile, they will usually give you a credit increase. For example, if you have a credit line of $2000, and this isn’t enough, you can ask for an increase if you haven’t been late with a payment for 6 months. Here are some sentences you can use:
‘I would like a credit increase.’
‘Can I get a credit increase?’
‘$2000 is not enough. Can I get this increased?’
They might ask, ‘How much did you have in mind?’
You can answer by saying, ‘I would like to increase my limit to $5000 please.’
If you have a second credit card with a higher limit, you can include that as justification.
‘I have a different credit card with a $5000 limit. Can you increase my account to $5000 because I would like to use this card as my primary credit card?’

Listen Finally, when you want to close an account, you can say the following things:
‘I don’t use my credit card any more, so can you close my account?’
‘I would like to close my account please.’
‘Can you close my account?’
They will always ask why, and they might even say having a second credit card in case of an emergency is important. If you come across this, you can say the following:
‘I just don’t use this card and I would like to close it.’
‘I have several credit cards and I am closing the cards I don’t use.’

There are many different types of credit cards, and if you have specific questions about any credit card, feel free to ask in the message boards.