Credit Cards
- 13.71% (all fixed)
- 14.58% (all variable)
The average annual percentage rate, or APR, for variable-rate credit cards increased 8 basis points to 14.58 percent from 14.5 percent, according to Bankrate's latest survey of interest rates. A basis point is one-hundredth of 1 percentage point. The fixed APR stayed steady at 13.71 percent. The fixed rate hasn't budged since late October.
Issuers mailed out more offers for plain-vanilla credit cards, or those with no annual fee or rewards, in the final quarter of last year compared with the same period in 2010, according to Chicago research firm Mintel Comperemedia. Plain-vanilla card offers made up 30 percent of all offers in 2011's fourth quarter versus only 13 percent in the same period in 2010.