Current credit card interest rates

The average credit card interest rate is 19.70%, down from a record-high 20.79% set on Aug. 14, 2024.

Current credit card interest rates

Bankrate Data Center

Since 1976, Bankrate has been the go-to source for personal finance data, publishing average rates on the most popular financial products and tracking the experience of consumers nationwide.

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Credit card rates are creeping up again

How are credit card rates set?

Your credit card APR has two parts: the Prime Rate, plus a markup your card issuer chooses.

The Prime Rate is the benchmark that banks use for their most creditworthy customers and the basis for many financial products. It’s typically 3 percentage points higher than the top end of the federal funds rate, which is set by the Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee. Currently, the Prime Rate is 7%.

The issuer’s markup is where the rest of your rate comes from, and it’s set at the issuer’s discretion. On average, this margin often runs between 12 and 13 percentage points.

Credit cards carry a higher markup than other loans, such as mortgages and auto loans, because credit card debt is unsecured — it isn’t backed by a physical asset such as a home or car that the issuer can seize if you don’t repay the debt.

When the Fed moves, your rate moves

Your credit card rate changes along with the Fed rate, but these changes are typically incremental. For example, the Fed raised the benchmark rate by 25 basis points on Sept. 16, 2026, bringing the target range to 3.75% to 4.00%. In the following month, the average credit card interest rate rose by 0.12%, according to Bankrate’s data.

Because most cards carry a variable APR with the Prime Rate baked in, a Fed rate change passes straight through to your rate — either up or down — and your issuer isn’t required to give you notice. Most people see it within one to two billing cycles. The exact timing is up to the issuer: some use the Prime Rate as of your statement date, while others use the first or last day of the month.

When your issuer changes your rate because the Prime Rate changes, it applies to your existing balance and all new purchases.

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Credit card interest rates don’t move much when the Fed raises rates. Paying off credit card debt mostly comes down to your APR.

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Your rights when your credit card interest rate changes

Whether your issuer is required to let you know about a rate change depends on the reason for the change. If the rate moved because the Prime Rate moved, the issuer isn’t required to alert you. The change is automatic and is built into your card agreement.

But if your issuer changes your interest rate for another reason, such as applying a penalty APR for a late payment, you have the right to know. The issuer is required to give you a 45-day notice before any such changes. You have the right to opt out of the new terms, but if you do, your card company will likely close your account. You won’t have to pay off the entire balance immediately, but your minimum payment may increase.

If you agree to the new terms, the new APR can only apply to new balances, except in certain circumstances.

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How do credit card rates affect you?

When you carry a balance, your issuer divides your APR by 365 to get the daily rate, then applies it to your average daily balance, or the average of what you owed on each day of the billing cycle. That’s the part that matters: If you carry a balance, interest builds every single day. Paying it down is the only thing that stops it. 

Let’s say you have $5,000 of credit card debt and your interest rate is 20% APR. If you only make minimum payments, you’ll be in debt for about 23 years and pay roughly $7,723 in interest, according to Bankrate’s minimum payment calculator.

But if you pay your credit card purchases in full each month, you aren’t charged interest and you typically receive an interest-free grace period of at least 21 days. For example, if your billing statement is generated on the 1st of the month, you usually have until at least the 22nd to pay without interest accruing. And because the clock doesn’t start until your statement closes, something you bought on the first day of the cycle gets the whole cycle plus the grace period — close to seven weeks interest-free.

• Our methodology

  When we refer to the average credit card rate, we mean the average midpoint of the APR ranges assessed by 111 popular credit cards offered by the 50 largest U.S.-based credit card issuers. Most credit cards charge different interest rates to different customers based upon their creditworthiness. A consumer with an excellent credit score, for example, might be charged 14.99%. That same card might charge as high as, say, 24.99% to someone with a lower credit score. In that example, we would use 19.99% (the midpoint between 14.99% and 24.99%) in our average credit card rate calculations.