Banks
Credit Card Interest Rates Continue to Fall
The Associated Press
12/30/08 - 04:36 PM EST
NEW YORK -- The average annual interest rates charged on popular types of credit cards fell again last week, according to Bankrate.com.
For low-interest cards, which have rates below the national average but are often offered only to customers with strong credit histories, the average APR declined to 11.33%, from 11.42% the week before.
Cash back cards, which feature cash or other reward incentives and generally require a good-to-excellent credit rating for approval, saw their average APR dropped to 13.51%, from 13.57% last week.
For balance transfer cards, which allow consumers to consolidate outstanding debt from one or more cards and sometimes include a low introductory rate, the average annual%age rate fell to 13.01%, from 13.07% the week before.
Overall, the average APR charged for all variable-rate cards tracked by Bankrate was 10.86%, down from 11.04% the previous week.
Bankrate surveys the 10 largest banks and thrifts in the 10 largest markets in the U.S. to determine its averages.