Credit Cards
Rates: 13.46 percent (standard fixed); 11.48 percent (standard variable)The average purchase APR offered on new accounts rose to 11.51 percent, up 5 basis points from the previous week. The mean fixed rate across standard, gold and platinum cards kept to 12.34 percent.
Standard cards charged an average fixed rate of 13.46 percent, and an average variable rate of 11.48 percent.
Many provisions in the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009, or CARD Act, don't go into effect until February, leaving consumers vulnerable to rate hikes on unpaid balances. Several measures in Congress seek to expedite protections for cardholders. On Monday, Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., introduced a bill that would freeze credit card interest rates on existing balances until the law takes hold next year. Last week the House Financial Services Committee approved legislation that would accelerate the implementation date of the CARD Act to Dec. 1.
You can find your best credit card deal -- by type -- at Bankrate's interactive tool.
-- Leslie McFadden