Consumer Credit Card Rates Move Up Again
Consumer
credit card rates continued to climb this week as quarter-point
rate increases from several major banks were applied. Business
credit card rates remained steady.
Bank of America and Wells Fargo instituted a quarter-point increase
to the APRs of most consumer cards, with a handful of smaller
institutions increasing rates as well.
"Top-level"
consumer credit cards averaged a 9.70% Annual Percentage Rate
(APR) in the latest survey, up from 9.64% last week. The lowest
rate found for consumer credit cards without an annual fee was
again the Capital One Platinum MasterCard, offering a 5.9% APR.
IndexCreditCards.com
uses "top-level" to describe Platinum or similarly designated
credit cards that generally offer the lowest interest rates
to eligible cardholders.
Reward cards for consumers averaged a 10.84% APR, up from 10.77%.
The lowest APR in this group again belonged to the MBNA Rewards
American Express Card at 7.9%.
Student credit card rates increased as well, with an average
14.78% APR, up from 14.72% last week. The Wachovia Student Visa
offered the lowest student APR at 9.9%.
No
changes in business credit card rates were noted. The "top-level"
business card average rate remained at 9.91%. Business reward
credit cards again averaged a 11.37% APR. The lowest rate for
business credit cards with no annual fee was the Advanta Platinum
BusinessCard, offering a 7.99% APR, as well as a program with
travel or cash back rewards.
"As
always, averages are based on the lowest rates published by
the issuing credit card banks," said Adam Jusko, Research
Director for IndexCreditCards.com. "If you or your business
do not have excellent credit scores, add 2% to these totals
to estmate your rate. Consumers or businesses with poor credit
will be offered even higher rates."
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,
and Wells Fargo.
Published 10/19/05 (Modified 05/07/12)
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