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)