On standard cards, the average variable rate fell for the 10th consecutive week, to 10.96 percent, down 25 basis points from last week. Fixed-rate standard cards sat unchanged at 13.42 percent. A basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point.

The average APR also dropped for all variable-rate cards. It tumbled 18 basis points to 10.86 percent, while fixed-rate cards kept to 12.06 percent.

Last week regulators approved sweeping credit card reforms. Thanks to the new rules, issuers must abandon universal default on existing balances and double-cycle billing, and apply payments to accounts with multiple balances in a way that lessens interest charges. The rules don't take effect until July 2010, however, and some experts warn that, as a result, banks may further constrict access to credit cards, pull zero-percent promotional offers and increase costs for borrowers.

-- Leslie McFadden

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