Credit Cards

• 13.36% (all fixed)
• 14.41% (all variable)

Here's a look at the state of credit card rates from Bankrate.com's weekly national survey of large banks and thrifts conducted Feb. 2, 2011.

Average APRs for fixed-rate and variable-rate credit cards remained unchanged from last week. The average purchase APR for variable-rate cards kept to 14.41 percent and the fixed-rate average held at 13.36 percent.

During the fourth quarter of 2010, almost 13 percent of U.S. banks eased approval standards "somewhat" for credit card applications, with large banks accounting for all of the easing, according to the January 2011 release of the Federal Reserve's Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices. A whopping 85 percent of banks kept their credit standards unchanged, and just 2.5 percent tightened their standards.

Nearly 80 percent of banks kept credit limits on new and existing card accounts relatively unchanged, while an equal number of card issuers lowered or boosted credit limits.

Bankrate.com makes it easier to find cash-back credit cards and low-rate cards. You can search by issuer, card type or credit score.