Here's a look at the state of credit card rates from Bankrate.com's weekly national survey of large banks and thrifts conducted Dec. 30, 2009.
Credit Cards
Rates: 13.47 percent (standard fixed); 11.54 percent (standard variable)Average variable interest rates on credit cards moved up this week. Across standard, gold and platinum cards, the mean purchase APR rose 6 basis points to 11.77 percent. On standard cards, the average variable rate also made a 6-basis point hike, to 11.54 percent.
Fixed rates didn't budge. For all cards, the average fixed rate remained at 12.43 percent and the standard-fixed rate kept to 13.47 percent.
For the third consecutive quarter this year, credit card balances dwindled. Total credit card debt dropped to $657 billion, down 8.2 percent from the $716 billion owed in the fourth quarter of 2008, according to a market intelligence report from Oliver Wyman and Experian, one of the three major credit reporting agencies.
You can find your best credit card deal -- by type -- at Bankrate's interactive tool.
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-- Leslie McFadden