Recent Federal Reserve rate cuts are helping to bring down credit card rates. But before you begin celebrating, consider the fact that rates are not much lower than they were when the rate cuts began. Credit card rates rose significantly in July, August and September as credit card issuers followed the Fed to curb inflation. But because of the recent housing slump, credit worries, high oil prices and a variety of other factors, rates have been decreasing for the last few months. Fact is, rates are sitting approximately at the same level they did before the Fed action began.

Here’s how the credit community is reacting compared to mid-year rates:

* Average credit card rate (non-reward): 14.22% - down from 14.41%
* Average reward credit card rate: 15.81% - down from 15.85%
* Average student credit card rate: 16.49% - down from 16.64%
* Average business card rate (non-reward): 12.33% - down from 12.61%
* Average business reward credit card rate: 13.90% - down from 14.25%

Posted in News & Info

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.