Average Credit Card Rate Tops 14% After Latest Fed Rate Increase

Average Credit Card Rate Tops 14% After Latest Fed Rate Increase
The average consumer credit card rate jumped
to 14.03% this week after yet another Federal Reserve quarter-point
interest rate hike, according to the weekly IndexCreditCards.com
Credit Card Monitor.

The 14.03% average rate on non-reward consumer credit cards
is an increase from last week’s 13.98%. The average rate when
2006 began was 12.60%. (For those with excellent credit, the
current average rate is 11.11%, up from 11.08% last week.)

The
average reward credit card rate jumped as well, up to 15.53%
from 15.44%. This rate was at 13.64% when 2006 began. For those
with excellent credit, the average rate jumped to 13.10%, up
from 13.02.

The
average student credit card rate also took a big leap, from
16.21% to 16.31%.

Business
credit cards increased even more. The average non-reward business
credit card rate increased to 11.96% from 11.80%, and the average
rate for business credit cards with rewards increased to 13.86%,
up from 13.74%.

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.