CreditCards.com: Weekly Credit Card Rate Report

Business Wire, March 8, 2007

NEW YORK -- Rates on low-interest consumer credit cards edged downward this week with an average regular annual percentage rate (APR) of 11.66%, according to CreditCards.com. Averages on other popular credit card categories tracked by CreditCards.com are listed below:

Credit Card Rate Averages

Low Interest               11.66%
Balance Transfer           11.47%
Instant Approval           13.95%
Reward                     13.72%
Cash Back                  13.38%
Airline                    15.01%
Business                   13.99%
Student                    17.88%
Bad Credit                 14.01%

Source: CreditCards.com
Updated: 03-08-07

Variable credit card rates generally move in lockstep with changes in the prime rate dictated by the monetary policy of the Federal Reserve Board's Federal Open Market Committee. In the absence changes to the federal funds rate, other factors such as issuer loss rates and competitive pressures can trigger changes in regular interest rates offered to the public through various marketing channels. Some variable credit card rates in the marketplace are indexed to the London Inter-bank Offered Rate (Libor), which is a daily reference rate based on interest rates at which banks offer to lend funds to other banks in the London wholesale money market.

Concerning category trends, the Student card segment continues to have significantly higher average interest rates relative to other card categories. These higher APRs are driven by greater credit risk involved with those who have limited credit history. This segment is highly profitable for the card industry, however, and represents a significant source of new entrants to the credit market.

CreditCards.com's national weekly credit card rate survey is conducted each Wednesday using data from the leading credit card issuers in the United States.

Introductory offer periods and actual regular interest rates can vary depending on individual applicants' credit quality and issuer risk-based pricing policies.

About CreditCards.com

CreditCards.com operates a free credit card comparison website, located at www.CreditCards.com, where consumers can examine various offers side by side and securely apply online for credit cards from the nation's leading issuers. The cards are organized by major category (low interest, airline, student, cash back and others), with dynamic daily updating of credit card offers, rates and features. CreditCards.com's mission is to provide a full range of card choices, news articles and features -- all designed to help consumers make informed choices about their credit cards.

NOTE TO EDITORS: The information contained in this release is available for print or broadcast with attribution to CreditCards.com.