Credit Card Rates Continue Downward Trend
After hitting a two-year low last week, average credit card rates moved even lower this week, thanks to the three-quarters of a point rate cut delivered by the Federal Reserve. (About 70% of credit cards have variable rates that move up or down in response to Fed interest rate changes.)
The average credit card rate for non-reward consumer credit cards fell to 13.16% this week, down from 13.29% last week, setting another new low-water mark for the last two years. The average rate on credit cards with rewards fell to 15.09%, down from 15.15% last week, and also hitting a new two-year low.
The averages listed above attempt to take into account the multiple tiers that many credit card issuers offer, instead of accounting for only the lowest listed rates. However, IndexCreditCards.com also tracks the very lowest listed rates, those reserved for customers with the very best credit. This week those averages are at 9.86% for non-reward consumer cards and 12.57% for consumer cards with rewards.
Student credit card rate averages are threatening to slip under the 15% mark for the first time in our survey, with the average student card rate declining to 15.07% this week, down from 15.22% the week before.
Business credit card rates are also at two-year lows. The average rate for non-reward business credit cards is 11.11%, while the average rate for reward business credit cards stands at 12.49%.
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.
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1.Discover® More Card - 0% APR on balance transfers for 12 months & 6 months on purchases, 5% cashback bonus in popular categories, up to 1% cashback bonus on all other purchases
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2.Chase Freedom Card - 0% Intro APR and no Annual Fee, 5% bonus cash back in popular categories , 1% cash bank on everything else
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3.Citi® Platinum Select® MasterCard® - 0% on purchases & balance transfers for Up to 18 months, APR as low as 9.99% variable. $30 statement credit.
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4.Blue Cash® from American Express - Earn up to 5% cash back on gas, groceries and drug store purchases, and up to 1.5% back on all other purchases, no annual fee, fast approval under 60 seconds
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6.American Express® Gold Card - 10,000 American Express Membership Rewards bonus points when you use the card for at least $500 in purchases within the first 3 months.
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7.TrueEarnings® Business Card from Costco & American Express - 4% cash back for annual gas purchases up to $6,000, 3% restaurants, 2% travel, 1% everywhere else, 0% APR on purchases for first 6 months
