Consumer Credit Card Rates Steady Ahead of Fed Meeting

Consumer Credit Card Rates Steady Ahead of Fed Meeting

Credit card rates remained steady this week,

but a looming Federal Reserve interest rate hike is expected

to send rates higher again in the near future, according to

the weekly IndexCreditCards.com Credit Card Monitor. Ben Bernanke

and the Federal Open Market Committee are expected to raise

rates by another quarter-point at their June 28th/29th meeting,

which will result in identical hikes for most credit cards with

variable-rate pricing.

The average interest rate for consumer credit cards with no

rewards remained at 13.98% this week. (For those with excellent

credit, the average rate is 11.08%.)

The

average reward credit card rate ticked up ever so slightly,

to 15.44%, from 15.41%. For those with excellent credit, the

average rate increased to 13.02, from 13.00% previously.

Student

rates remained at an average rate of 16.21%.

Business

credit cards took a jump this week. The average non-reward business

credit card rate increased to 11.80% this week, up from 11.74%

previously, while business credit cards with rewards increased

to an average rate of 13.74%, from 13.71%.

Financial institutions represented in the survey include Advanta,

American Express, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citi,

Discover, MBNA, National City, Providian, Pulaski Bank, U.S.

Bank, Wachovia, Wells Fargo and more.

Published 06/26/06 (Modified 05/07/12)