CreditCards.com Weekly Credit Card Rate Report: Credit card interest rates rise

AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Interest rates on new credit card offers rose this week, according to the CreditCards.com Weekly Credit Card Rate Report.

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The average is comprised of 100 of the most popular credit cards in the country, including cards from dozens of leading U.S. issuers and representing every card category. Introductory (teaser) rates are not included in the calculation.

Rates for card categories tracked by CreditCards.com are listed below:

Credit Card Averages

                            Avg. APR Last week 6 months ago
    National Average                 15.00%    14.98%       15.02%
    Low Interest                     10.40%    10.40%       10.40%
    Balance Transfer                 12.62%    12.62%       12.63%
    Business                         13.13%    13.13%       13.13%
    Student                          13.16%    13.16%       13.77%
    Cash Back                        14.47%    14.47%       14.45%
    Airline                          14.63%    14.63%       14.63%
    Reward                           14.84%    14.82%       14.84%
    Instant Approval                 15.49%    15.49%       15.49%
    Bad Credit                       23.64%    23.64%       23.64%
    Source: CreditCards.com
    Updated: 09-19-2012

The national average annual percentage rate (APR) on new card offers hit 15 percent on Wednesday, after hovering just below 15 percent for eight straight weeks.

This week’s rise in rates was brought on by the replacement in the CreditCards.com database of a discontinued gas card, the ExxonMobil Platinum MasterCard, with a similar gas rewards card, the ExxonMobil Preferred Smart Card. The Smart Card features a significantly higher interest rate – 24.99 percent – than the discontinued Platinum MasterCard and so helped push up the national average.

The national average was also impacted this week by a change to the Best Buy RewardZone Platinum MasterCard. The card’s APR was lowered from 21.74 percent to 17.99 percent. However, the change wasn’t big enough to counteract the higher rate gas card.

The CreditCards.com credit card rate survey (permalink: http://www.creditcards.com/rate-report) is conducted weekly, using offer data from the leading U.S. card issuers’ websites. Introductory offer periods and regular interest rates will vary with applicants’ credit quality and issuer risk-based pricing policies.

About CreditCards.com

CreditCards.com is the leading online credit card marketplace connecting consumers with multiple credit card issuers, including a majority of the 10 largest in the United States, based on credit card transaction volume. CreditCards.com, http://www.creditcards.com, enables consumers to search for, compare and apply for credit cards and offers credit card issuers an online channel to acquire qualified applicants.

SOURCE CreditCards.com