CreditCards.com Weekly Credit Card Rate Report: Average card rates rise to 15.72 percent

The national average APR on new card offers inched up again this week, according to the CreditCards.com Weekly Credit Card Rate Report.

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 Rate Averages

Avg. APR

Last week

6 months ago

National Average

15.72%

15.71%

15.18%

Low Interest

12.57%

12.56%

12.00%

Balance Transfer

14.99%

14.98%

14.41%

Business

13.64%

13.62%

13.12%

Student

13.92%

13.92%

13.42%

Cash Back

15.77%

15.76%

15.33%

Airline

15.73%

15.73%

15.13%

Reward

15.80%

15.79%

15.24%

Instant Approval

18.23%

18.23%

17.86%

Bad Credit

23.20%

23.20%

22.86%

Source: CreditCards.com

Updated: 4-5-2017

The average APR for new card offers rose to 15.72 percent after two more cards matched the Federal Reserve’s March 2017 rate change.

Most issuers have now boosted rates in response to the Federal Reserve’s rate change, causing the average APR to rise four weeks in a row. Since March 15, eight of the country’s biggest issuers, including Bank of America, Discover, Capital One, American Express, U.S. Bank, Citi, Barclaycard and Wells Fargo have increased rates on most new card offers by 0.25 percent. Several regional banks have also increased APRs.

As a result, the national average APR has risen to its highest point since CreditCards.com began tracking rates in mid-2007. The average APR for the year is currently 15.51 percent.

The CreditCards.com credit card rate survey is conducted weekly, using offer data from 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.