Posted on 07/02/2022 7:41:49 PM PDT by Libloather
As credit card debt in the United States continues to swell amid unbridled inflation, average annual percentage rates for new credit cards are hitting record highs.
“Credit card interest rates are basically the highest they’ve ever been. I’ve been watching credit card rates on a monthly basis for more than a decade now. And it’s the highest that they’ve been since I’ve been tracking them," Matt Schulz, the chief credit analyst for LendingTree, told Yahoo Finance.
The average interest rate for credit cards was 20.17%, according to an analysis in June by LendingTree, an internet lending marketplace. June marked the first time the average rate eclipsed 20% since the survey began in 2018, according to the company. The survey reviewed over 200 popular credit cards.
The uptick in credit card interest rates coincides with high levels of credit card debt. Recent data from the Federal Reserve found that credit card balances in the U.S. reached $841 billion during the first quarter of 2022, according to CNBC. While lower than record-high levels of $930 billion set in 2019, the recent trend has been upward.
"The troubling truth is that we’re nowhere near where the top is going to be," Schulz added, per the outlet.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonexaminer.com ...
Highway robbery, albeit legal. My wife ha never missed a payment on her AMEX and she was being charged 29.99% on her balance.
I don’t even carry a CC, Pay cash for everything. If they won’t take cash I go to different store.
>>You’d be an idiot to get one of those.<<
It’s like legal loan sharking.
A family realizes the loss of a job and begins that spiral of charging stuff on a CC until they gain employment again often times get trapped in a cycle.
Biden chastises gas stations, oil/gas, grocery stores for the price increases and demands they lower their prices...lol
How bout doing something about insane CC interest rates.
When we were free people and were able to cruise, we used CCs for that.
We always carry them in the event of a medical emergency, especially when traveling and it’s impossible to get home and retrieve a card.
(only buy what you can afford to pay for).
yup, property and vehicles are all i ever financed
IDK. Paying off each month, we were told, is the same as no credit at all. I dislike paying interest. We only use the cards now for bigger purchases like our range or generator. I give them 3 payments to have a record and then we pay it off.
One thing about crime it’s called organized for a reason.
You mean you don't finance your daily cafe lattes?
LOL!!! you know me, sooo well...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.