Consumer Credit Card Rates Steady Ahead of Fed Meeting Credit card rates remained steady this week, but a looming Federal Reserve interest rate hike is expected to send rates higher again in the near future, according to the weekly IndexCreditCards.com Credit Card Monitor. Ben Bernanke and the Federal Open Market Committee are expected to raise rates by another quarter-point at their June 28th/29th meeting, which will result in identical hikes for most credit cards with variable-rate pricing.

The average interest rate for consumer credit cards with no rewards remained at 13.98% this week. (For those with excellent credit, the average rate is 11.08%.) The average reward credit card rate ticked up ever so slightly, to 15.44%, from 15.41%. For those with excellent credit, the average rate increased to 13.02, from 13.00% previously. Student rates remained at an average rate of 16.21%. Business credit cards took a jump this week. The average non-reward business credit card rate increased to 11.80% this week, up from 11.74% previously, while business credit cards with rewards increased to an average rate of 13.74%, from 13.71%.

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, Wells Fargo and more.

Published 06/26/06 (Modified 05/07/12)