Credit Card APRs Nearing Record Highs

Listen up, cardholders: Make the most of teaser rates while they last. Credit card issuers are aggressively courting new customers with zero percent introductory APRs and balance transfer rates equally as low, but standard APRs have risen to within a hair’s-breadth of record highs, and this is in an economy of record-low borrowing rates for banks.

According to the most recent rate report from CreditCards.com, the national average APR crept up to 14.9 percent, just shy of the record 14.91 percent reached back in July, which was the highest average since the site began tracking APRs in 2007. This is a jump from six months ago, when the average was 14.77 percent. The increase is primarily coming from the cards that have some of the strongest appeal for consumers; APRs for cash back and reward cards both went up.

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