Average Credit Card Rate Goes Below 14%
Federal interest rate cuts continue to bring down average credit card rates, with the average interest rate for non-reward credit cards dipping below 14% this week, according to our IndexCreditCards.com Credit Card Monitor. Averages in this report do not even take into account the surprise 0.75% cut in Federal interest rates announced this week. We expect average credit card rates to drop another half-percent in the next two months or so, in response to the Fed’s latest big move. (About 70% of credit cards have variable rates that rise and fall in step with Federal interest rates.)
The average rate for non-reward consumer credit cards is now 13.98%, down from 14.22% in November, and down from 14.41% at the beginning of October. For credit cards offering reward programs, the average rate decreased to 15.61%, down from 15.81%. (For those with the very best credit scores, average rates on non-reward and reward credit cards are currently 10.65% and 13.11%, respectively.)
Average rates on business credit cards are falling as well. The average non-reward business credit card rate fell to 12.05%, from 12.33%, and the average rate on business credit cards that offer rewards fell to 13.48%, down from 13.90%.
While students still have the worst rates in the market, things are better than they’ve been in the recent past. The average student credit card rate is now 16.14%, down from 16.49% in November.
Financial institutions represented in the survey include Advanta, American Express, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citi, Discover, National City, Pulaski Bank, U.S. Bank, Washington Mutual, Wells Fargo and more.