What a Good APR Credit Card Looks Like
A good APR for a credit card is less than 14% – if you have good credit. If you have excellent credit, you may qualify for an even better rate, like 10%. If you have bad credit, however, the best credit card APR available to you might be over 20%. Even the best secured credit cards for building credit often have a credit card APR starting at around 22.99%.
The highest interest rates on credit cards are usually found on:
Those with the lowest APRs tend to be low interest credit cards and credit union credit cards. Some of the best low interest credit cards have a credit card APR range of 12% to 14%. Many popular credit unions offer credit cards with interest rates ranging from 5.99% to 8% for their most creditworthy members.
READ MORE: Best Low Interest Credit Cards
For context, the average credit card APR for all types of credit cards ranges from 15.49% to 22.61% as of June 2020. Credit cards typically offer a range of APRs, rather than a single general rate for all types of transactions.
A good way to improve your chances of getting approved for a low interest credit card is to improve your credit score. Only consumers with an excellent credit score are eligible for credit cards with the lowest credit card APR.
Even if you get a good APR for a credit card, most credit card interest rates are actually quite high. Credit cards are particularly expensive compared to the average personal loan interest rate (which is 9.41%). Nonetheless, you should strive for the best credit card APR you can get, especially if you plan to carry a balance.
To give you an idea of the difference a few percentage points can make when it comes to paying off credit card debt, the chart below shows you what paying off $10,000 in card debt looks like. credit in $300 per month with three different installments. interest rate.