No matter how good your current credit card offer is, it could probably be better. Maybe you’d like to pay less in fees or stop paying interest. Perhaps you’d like to earn more rewards. Sure, you could look for other credit card offers and initiate a balance transfer to get a better deal, but did you know there is an easier way?

Whether or not you have a good credit card deal is largely up to you! Nothing influences how much you pay or how much you earn more than you do. Here are a few ways you could change your own behaviour to land a better credit card deal, without having to negotiate with your credit card company.

1. Pay off your balance in full each month.

This is the easiest way to save money on interest. By paying off your balance in full before the end of each statement period, you’ll likely have interest free days available in the following statement period (meaning interest won’t accrue as soon as you make a purchase).

2. Take advantage of bonus rewards points.

Some rewards cards, like the Citibank Gold credit card, give you opportunities to earn bonus rewards points. You can earn more rewards points than usual by making purchases you would make anyway. Sometimes those rewards points come the first time you use your card. Other times you’ll earn bonus points when you shop with partner retailers instead of other stores. When you take advantage of bonus reward points offers, you maximise the rewards you can earn (sometimes bonus points don’t count towards other point caps).

3. Don’t get cash advances.

Cash advances are one of the most costly features of credit cards. The interest rate is usually higher than interest on purchases. You’ll be charged interest immediately (interest free days generally won’t apply). On top of that, you’ll probably be charged a cash advance fee. Cash advances are not a good deal.

4. Make every payment on time.

If a payment is made late on your credit card bill, you’ll potentially be hit twice. First, you’ll pay a late payment fee. If that payment was to pay off your full balance though, you’ll also lose interest free days if your payment doesn’t get applied by the due date.

5. Drop any unnecessary additional cards.

Do you and your spouse have two of each credit card so you can be listed as additional cardholders? It might be wise to drop the additional cards and each use different cards if you’re looking to save money. While additional cardholders can help you earn more rewards points, it might cost so much more in extra annual fees and reward programme fees that those rewards aren’t actually worth it.

Changing credit cards can be a hassle. So can negotiations. See what you can do on your own first to improve your credit card deal by changing how you use them or pay off the balances. You might be paying more, or earning less, than you think.