BALTIMORE -- Lowering your credit card interest rate might not be as difficult as you think.

Watch: 11 News Reporter Mindy Basara

The WBAL TV 11 News I-Team conducted an experiment with 98 Rock show hosts Amelia, Josh Spiegel and Stash to see if they could save money on their credit card bills by simply making a phone call.

"A lot of people do not realize that if their APR is too high, one of the things that we recommend is that they call their issuer and ask for a lower rate," said Bill Hardekopf, a credit expert with the Internet company lowcards.com.

Hardekopf co-authored the Credit Card Guidebook. He recommended that if a person has an Annual Percentage Rate, or APR, of more than 12 or 13 percent, along with good credit, he or she can simply ask the issuer to lower it.

"If you are a good customer, chances are they will strongly consider this," Hardekopf said.

When Amelia called her credit card company and asked to get hers lowered, they told her no because her rate was already low.

"Currently, my interest rate is 9.99 percent, and I haven't had to pay any interest so far because I'm making all of my payments in full," she said.

Spiegel was a different story. His APR was 28.99 percent, and when he asked to lower it, they also told him no.

"They said they can't lower it because I've been late a few times with my payments this year. Now, normally I'm always on time. I guess I just missed a few prompt payments, and now I'm humiliated," he told I-Team reporter Mindy Basara.

But he didn't give up and called the company back. The second time, he went up the chain of command.

"I'm calling because I'm a little startled by my interest rate," Spiegel told a supervisor. "I think since I've been a member since 1998 that I'm a good customer. I should be able to have a lower interest rate."

In that case, he got good news.

"They lowered my interest rate from 28.99 percent to 11.99 percent," he said after he got off the phone.

They cut his rate by 17 points -- equal to a savings of more than $800 a year on a $5,000 balance, Basara reported.

Stash actually had a credit of about $3 on his card with a 12.9 percent APR. When he called his company for a lower rate, he was told no and asked for a supervisor. That person also turned him down.

"That's the lowest you have available, 12.9 percent? You can't knock it down to 10?" he asked the person. When they said no, he asked for another supervisor, who told him they would call back in an hour.

A few minutes later, Stash's phone rang and he was told they still could not lower it, but he decided to try a third time. When he called, he got yet another supervisor.

"I'm just trying to get something lower than 12.9 percent. I want to use the card over the holidays, and give me something. Anything would be a little bit different than 12.9," he told the supervisor, who in turn told him they would review his account and get back to him within 10 days via e-mail.

They did, but it wasn't good news, Basara reported.

"Unfortunately, we are not able to lower the APR for the above referenced account because a lower rate is not available at this time," the e-mail read.

Hardekopf said if you already have a relatively low interest rate like Stash's 12.9 percent or Amelia's 9.99 percent, your chances of getting it lowered are slim, but it's still worth a try. For someone with a very high interest rate like Spiegel, chances are much greater, especially because of his long history with the credit card company.

Even though it took Spiegel more than 20 minutes, he was able to lower the interest rate on another credit card from 12.9 to 8.9 percent.

Hardekopf said if you're told no at first, it never hurts to ask to speak to a supervisor.

98 Rock show host Mickey didn't participate in the experiment because he doesn't own a credit card, Basara reported.

"I don't have a credit card because I'm smart. I've never had a credit card," he said. "(My dad told me) if you can't buy it with cash, you can't have it. You can't afford it. Greatest advice I ever got," he said.

Hardekopf said consumers should be sure to read any credit card offer carefully so they don't end up with a lower interest rate but are stuck paying other fees.

For more tips from Hardekopf, click on the video link above. Also, you can find more of his organization's list of the lowest and highest credit card offers in the country by clicking here.