This one was from cardtrak.com - WHERE DO YOU FALL?????4.75%? 6%? 13.00%? 35.00%? Notice Providian's JACK RATE of 29.99%! HERE is the story - Interest rates on bank credit cards have widened as a result of the eleven rate cuts by the Feds last year. Card rates, after the introductory periods, now range from 4.75% to 35.00%, the widest spread ever. Chase offers the lowest rate on its 'Prime Card' at 4.75%, while CompuCredit charges a 35% rate for its 'Aspire VISA' card. Other issuers at the top end of spectrum include Direct Merchants, Providian, First North American, and Sears. Direct Merchants charges APRs as high as 25.99%, while Providian offers a 23.99% rate. However Providian has been raising rates to 29.99% on some existing cardholders. First North American, a unit of Circuit City, charges a 21.90% rate for its bank credit card program. Sears also charges a 21.90% for its 'Gold MasterCard'. Most of the issuers levying the higher rates issue cards to consumers with less than desirable credit records. The average interest rate charged for unsecured, sub-prime credit cards is 20.73%, compared to an average rate for middle-market or prime cards of 14.22%, according to CardData (www.carddata.com).
Thanks Dog for the info. Please have our members remember to consider the credit unions as a lender. They are much more favorable in their treatment of damaged credit.
I closed Providian because they were going to increase my interest rate to almost 30% - that is outrageous... compare to Premier at 13.9% (although I had to ask them to lower rate)... Never paid much attention to the APR on my cards until Providian sent me notice of the increase- now its the first thing I look at in all my pre-approved offers.
Chase offered to change my account to the "Prime card", but in order to have the prime rate, you have to pay an annual fee. My current apr is prime +1.4, so I didn't feel the switch was worth it for me.
