How to erase credit card late-payment fees

Not only does it never hurt to ask, but with credit card late-payment fees it's almost guaranteed to help.

A new survey from CreditCards.com found that nine out of 10 credit card holders who asked their card issuers to waive a late fee were successful in their efforts. When it comes to requesting a lower rate, that's also more likely to succeed than fail, with the survey finding that two-thirds of cardholders were given lower rates.

While card issuers are willing to grant the requests, not many American cardholders seem to realize that. Only 28 percent of consumers asked their credit card issuer to waive a late-payment fee, and only 23 percent asked about a lower rate, the survey found.

Competitive pressures may be pushing credit card issuers to grant requests to waive the late fees, notes Matt Schulz, senior industry analyst at CreditCards.com.

"Discover and some other places have done some advertising about the fact that they'll waive your first late payment," he told CBS MoneyWatch. "Once something like that happens, it stands to reason that other competitors will jump in as well."

On top of that, the credit card industry is rebounding from the recession, with delinquency and default rates improving, according to the Federal Reserve. That might make credit card issuers more open to granting requests for lower rates and to waive late fees, Schulz noted.

"Back when the recession was in full swing, most of the headlines were about credit limits getting slashed," he said. Card issuers' willingness to waive fees and grant lower rates may suggest they are feeling an economic rebound, Schulz added.

There were some differences in who was most likely to find a friendly ear at the credit-card issuer, the study found. Basically, it boils down to the fact that people who are wealthier and older are more likely to have their requests granted.

Late-payment fees were waived 93 percent of the time when the request came from households with more than $75,000 in annual income. Households with annual income of less than $30,000 managed get the fees expunged 81 percent of the time.

In terms of asking for lower rates, almost three-quarters of households with incomes above $75,000 were successful, but fewer than two-thirds of households with income below $30,000 received a lower rate.

In terms of age, credit-card holders were most successful if they were over 29 years old. Only 80 percent of people age 18 to 29 had their late fees waived if they asked, while that rose to either 88 percent to 89 percent for all other age groups.

When it came to asking for better rates, the most successful age group were people between 50- to 64-years-old, with 79 percent receiving lower rates. The least successful group? Those 18 to 29, with only one-third finding success in their quest for lower rates.