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The US average credit card APR is about 21% across all accounts and 21.52% on accounts charged interest (Fed G.19, Q1 2026). Here's what the data shows and why your rate may be higher.

CFPB data shows large banks charge 8 to 10 percentage points more than small banks and credit unions for the same credit tier - worth $400-$500/yr on a $5,000 balance.

With great credit (720+) the median surveyed purchase APR is 22.99% at large issuers; good credit (620-719) is 28.20%; poor credit is 28.49% - and several points lower at credit unions.

A plain-English guide to the purchase APR, penalty APR, cash advance APR, balance transfer terms and fees on your credit card disclosure - and which numbers actually matter.

Store and retail credit cards reported the highest APRs in the CFPB survey - often near 30% to 36%. Here's why, and when (if ever) they make sense.

A plain-English explainer of the CFPB's semiannual credit-card survey: what it collects, who's in it, why it exists, and how to use the public data.