{"id":22965,"date":"2026-01-21T15:04:53","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T15:04:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/budgetadirect.com\/?p=22965"},"modified":"2026-01-21T15:04:54","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T15:04:54","slug":"current-credit-card-interest-rates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/budgetadirect.com\/?p=22965","title":{"rendered":"Current Credit Card Interest Rates"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Oleksandra Yagello\/Getty Images\n <\/p>\n <\/div>

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The average credit card interest rate is 19.62%, down from a record-high 20.79% set on Aug. 14, 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Current credit card interest rates<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Weekly national averages<\/th>\nVariable<\/th>\n<\/tr><\/thead>\n
01\/21\/2026<\/td>\n19.62%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
01\/14\/2026<\/td>\n19.64%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
01\/07\/2026<\/td>\n19.65%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
12\/31\/2025<\/td>\n19.72%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
12\/24\/2025<\/td>\n19.73%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
12\/17\/2025<\/td>\n19.75%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
12\/10\/2025<\/td>\n19.80%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
12\/3\/2025<\/td>\n19.83%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
11\/26\/2025<\/td>\n19.86%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
11\/19\/2025<\/td>\n19.87%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
11\/12\/2025<\/td>\n19.87%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
11\/5\/2025<\/td>\n19.98%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
10\/29\/2025<\/td>\n20.03%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
10\/22\/2025<\/td>\n20.01%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
10\/15\/2025<\/td>\n20.03%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
10\/8\/2025<\/td>\n20.03%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
10\/1\/2025<\/td>\n20.09%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
9\/24\/2025<\/td>\n20.11%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
9\/17\/2025<\/td>\n20.12%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
9\/10\/2025<\/td>\n20.12%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
9\/3\/2025<\/td>\n20.12%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
8\/27\/2025<\/td>\n20.12%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
8\/20\/2025<\/td>\n20.13%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n\n\n
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\n Bankrate Data Center\n <\/h3>\n \n \n

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.<\/p>\n\n \n \n See more\n \n <\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Historical interest rates<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

How are credit card rates set?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n

The typical credit card rate formula is the Prime Rate plus a profit margin set by the card issuer. On average, this margin often runs between 12% and 13%. The Prime Rate is currently 6.75%. It\u2019s typically 3 percentage points higher than the federal funds rate, which is set by the Federal Reserve\u2019s Federal Open Market Committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

Essentially, the federal funds rate is the interest rate that banks charge each other for short-term (generally overnight) loans. The Prime Rate is a benchmark for what banks charge their most creditworthy customers. It serves as a basis for many financial products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

Credit cards have a higher markup than other loans, such as mortgages and auto loans, because credit cards represent unsecured debt. That means they aren\u2019t backed by an underlying asset such as a home or car that a lender can seize if the borrower doesn\u2019t pay them back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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