I'm drowning in debt...can I negotiate a payment plan with my credit card companies?

I owe like $35 000 in credit cards and am unemployed ( my business went **** up)...I have had good credit all my life R1 for the most part some accouts I've had since 1994...

The problem is not the interest, I can afford that somehow, but the minimum payments.

Is there a way I can negotiate with the companies to only pay interest and freeze the card until things get better?

Would that screw my credit as bad as not paying at all?

Here's an option. Bankruptcy. But read on.....

I had probs with my credit card, too, I just stopped paying on it, it was all I could do. They called me and offered me a deal where they could not charge me any interest or late payment fees for the next 18 months and deduct a small amount from my checking account every month. They reported an "on time" payment on my credit report. At the end of the 18 months, they issued me a new card, reduced interest rate, on the new balance. This is a Master Card.

LOL, your minimum payments ARE 95% interest, are you kidding? So you are paying interest-only payments now...(unfortunately).

You either need to call them right away or declare bankruptcy. I would do that latter if I were you and then start building up your credit again. You need a clean slate and this will do it.

WHy not just try.
ALL that they can say is NO!
if they do, what have you lost.
ALso, you might want to try transfering your loans to a 0% account.
call Bank of America.
THey transfered all of my debt on my credit cards for free and the 0% is good for 12 months.
If I dont have it paid off then, I am going to switch again
I will keep doing this until I am down to zero.
(Bank of america 1 8000 732 9194).

I think that they would be willing to help you as you have been a great customer for years and you obviously have great credit or you wouldnt get $35k.
Dont know why your business went belly up but be sure to also talk to an accountant as some of your business expenses could be HUGE tax deductions.
p.s. 90 or so percent of all FIRST time businesses fail but the SECOND time rate of failure is about 35%. Since you now know what went wrong, MAKE IT RIGHT!
Good luck on your next venture!