Pick up the phone, look at the latest credit card offers and keep repeating this : The bank needs me more than I need it.

Say it so you believe it, OK?

Odd as it might seem, it is possible to negotiate a lower rate on credit cards - even during the credit crunch, troubling credit card delinquencies and the fallout from the mortgage mess.

Existing credit card customers are a valuable commodity, especially if they pay on time, have a job and use their cards.

"You have to keep in mind that the market is extremely competitive right now - and they don't want to lose you as a customer," said Gerri Detweiler, credit adviser for Credit.com in San Francisco.

What you have to do is make a phone call. Maybe a few phone calls. But if you're persistent and polite, you've got at least a 50-50 shot at a lower rate.

Think it's not worth your time? Think again.

Take $10,000 in credit card debt. If you make a payment of $250 a month, it could take you more than eight years and about $16,000 in interest to pay it off if your annual interest rate is consistently 27 percent.

But you'd save nearly $14,000 in interest if you got that rate down to 10 percent. You'd pay that $10,000 off in about four years - and pay about $2,200 in interest - if the rate remained at 10 percent.

The average variable rate credit card is currently 11.35 percent, according to Bankrate.com.

Or, looked at another way, consumers could save $50 to $150 a month in interest if they dump an extra-high or penalty rate and lock in a lower rate.

Worth making a few calls?

Step 1: Know your rate

First, pull out your credit card statements.

"Look at the bill and see what you're paying," said Ed Mierzwinski, the consumer program director of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group in Washington.

You want to know the annualized percentage rate, or APR, that you've paid in recent months.

It's possible that the rate is far higher than what you remember it was, especially if you were late with a payment or your credit score dropped.

Yet if you've been paying bills on time for the last six months to a year, you could be eligible to switch from a high-cost penalty rate to a lower interest rate.

Mierzwinski noted that in most cases, though, the customer must phone the credit card issuer to get that rate lowered, even after months of good behavior.

Consider the policy for Chase credit card holders. Chase has a program in which the customer who has experienced a rate increase can take action and sign up for automatic payment of that credit card. If the customer has automatic payment and makes on-time payments for 12 consecutive months, Chase will automatically lower the penalty rate back to the lower, original non-promotional rate.

Automatic payments from a bank account must be for the minimum payment, but individuals also can set them up for larger amounts. The payments are made on the due date.

What if a customer has been making on-time payments for at least 12 consecutive months, but did not sign up for automatic payments?

Then, the customer would be eligible for a rate reduction but would need to contact the bank, said Paul Hartwick, a spokesman for Chase Card Services in Wilmington, Del.

Step 2: Know what's out there

Before you call, see the kinds of credit card offers that are available to you. As you talk with the issuer, you can mention that you're getting offers for lower rates.

"You need a deal breaker, no matter what your situation is," said Scott Bilker, author of "Talk Your Way Out of Credit Card Debt" ($19.95, Press One Pub.) and creator of DebtSmart.com.

Or Bilker suggests that if you plan to take a big vacation, call the credit card issuer and ask: "Should I use your card at Disney?"

It's not unusual now to see some cards offer 0 percent. I received one offer from a credit union for 0 percent for 12 billing cycles for all purchases and balances that are transferred with the application.

Bilker said you might be able to negotiate 0 percent on your existing card for new purchases for 3 to 6 months, if you want. (For fun, I made one call to try this with my card. It did not work. She suggested that I could apply for another card at the same issuer with a short-term 0 percent offer.)

Step 3: Stay cool and persistent

When you call, expect to talk to more than one person. You may need to request a supervisor, if the first person doesn't drop your rate far enough. Or you can calmly ask: What do I need to do to get a lower rate?

"You can't call and be put on hold and give up," Bilker said.

If he doesn't like the answer he gets, Bilker said he'll call back 20 minutes later, in some cases. Or if the situation looks more difficult, he waits a few weeks to call back. Again, always keep your cool.

The best time to shop for a lower rate is when you've still got your job and are still able to pay your bills on time. If you're worried about losing your job, Bilker suggests that you avoid making that comment to a credit card issuer.

"They don't care," he said.

Yet Hartwick advised that if a Chase customer is having difficulty making payments, the customer should contact Chase. The customer may be eligible for a payment program that reduces the rate and potentially waives fees.

What are you waiting for?

Credit card issuers in general are tightening up standards for borrowers, said Travis Plunkett, the legislative director for the Consumer Federation of America.

So if you're consistently paying late month after month and always charging above the credit limit, it's tough to get a lower rate on your own.

Financially troubled consumers may need to work with a nonprofit credit counselor, such as Green Path Debt Solutions (www.greenpath.com).

Pretty good - if not perfect customers - continue to be hard to come by, though.

Bilker's book includes transcripts of 52 calls to different card issuers and outlines what worked and what didn't.

His No. 1 piece of advice: Make the call.

"Some people don't take any initiative. They sit back and do nothing," Bilker said.

Pick up the phone. Why are you waiting?

Things to remember when searching for a lower rate

It's not unusual to see 0 percent. But pay attention to how long that rate lasts and other rules that apply. The card could say "no annual fee," but you could end up being charged an annual fee of $40 or so in the future if you do not make any purchases in a year on that account.

If you transfer a balance to get 0 percent on one card, keep each of your credit card balances below 10 percent of the credit limits to avoid negative hits to your credit score. And remember, damage to your score will be more pronounced if balances reach 30 percent of the credit limits.

- McClatchy-Tribune News