Consumer Credit Card Rates Down Slightly

While average rates on consumer credit cards haven’t moved much recently, there has been a slight decrease as a few card companies tweak their offerings. According to this week’s IndexCreditCards.com Credit Card Monitor, rates have fallen for both non-reward and reward consumer credit cards.

The average credit card rate for non-reward consumer credit cards decreased to 14.10% from its previous 14.14%. For those with excellent credit, the average rate fell to 11.18% from 11.23%. The average consumer reward card rate fell to 15.59%, from the previous 15.62%. Those with the highest credit scores can expect an average rate of 13.13% on reward cards, down from 13.19% previously.

The biggest driver of these interest rate changes were new pricing from Capital One and Bank of America’s ongoing tinkering as it melds MBNA into its business.

Unfortunately the news isn’t as good for students. The average student credit card rate continues to rise, up to 16.59% this week, from 16.54% previously.

Same story for business customers, who had seen rates hold steady earlier in the year while consumer rates were on the upswing. The average non-reward business credit card rate stands at 12.21%, up slightly from 12.18%, while the average rate for business reward cards increased to 14.19%, from 14.16% previously.

Financial institutions represented in the survey include Advanta, American Express, Bank of America/MBNA, Capital One, Chase, Citi, Discover, National City, Providian, Pulaski Bank, U.S. Bank, Wells Fargo and more.