Mine's at 7.24% APR. I don't think I've ever seen it that low before except for promotions.

10.25 from my credit union, which is probably better than any credit card I've had before.

16.5% on my Capital One card. I can imagine I will probably be the highest out of everyone that posts. :(

Nope Nicki, I win. Purchase rate for my card is 19.990% and cash advance rate is 21.990%. I have a simple student credit card from 5/3rd bank with a $500 limit. It is the only card I have ever had and it was a PITA to get. However, I never miss payments and always pay in full. The only reason I have the card is to start building some credit for later down the road and I only use it to pay for gas.

^credit card companies actually hate it when you pay the card off in full every month. You actually get a better credit score when you leave a little bit of rollover.

John, Nicki, I'd recommend you look into a credit union in your area where you might qualify for membership. Interest rates on credit cards and other loans for that matter tend to be lower. I've gotten amazing service from the local credit union I joined in February when I bought Sabrina.

Last time I checked mine was 16%, but I pay it off in full most every month, occassionally leave a little on it to roll over so they don't cancel it. Recently I've been putting more on the debit card and using the credit card less though.

18.24% APR on my Chase card. Doesn't matter because I pay it off every month. In two years I've had my limit raised from $200 to $2400.

No idea what my rates are. Pay in full every month.

Too much.

Don't know. Don't care. I pay it off every month.

10% but i pay off every month

^credit card companies actually hate it when you pay the card off in full every month. You actually get a better credit score when you leave a little bit of rollover.
You ought to see what happens to your credit score when you pay your bills before the statement comes out. It really bumfuzzles them when you pay a little extra and carry a balance on your accounts.

Don't know. Don't care. I pay it off every month.

:yeah:

9.9% with a $35 annual fee IIRC. I only use it to order things off the internet and keep the maximum available balance to $1000 so I can't get ripped off for more then a grand (if it happens). I've had this particular card for 15 years. I believe it's the first thing ever put onto my credit history.

im probably in the worst situation on this forum. when i was younger, i screwed up my credit royally. as a result noone would extend credit to me (understandably). i finally found a credit card company who was willing to extend credit to me but it would cost me.
-$143 acceptance fee
-$7 a month fee (maintenance fee?)
-one time $3.95 internet access fee (not monthly, i paid it gladly, its so convenient)

there was an initial $200 credit limit, against which all of these charges were applied. So i basically had a $50 credit limit to start with, and owed the company $150 plus interest.

Interest: this applies if i am not late with a payment, which i have not been. if i am late purchases goes to 19.9 and cash advances goes to 24 or so. first is monthly second is yearly i guess...
Purchases 0.825 9.90
Cash Advances 1.658 19.90

although im sure im getting the shaft, i am hopefully building credit (i am also repairing credit [or trying] by paying off old debts). I didnt expect anything less. I only use it on times when i cant stretch my paycheck far enough, and even then only for gas and mcdoubles. my minimum payments are 25 and ive been paying 50, ive only had it for 4 months, have never gone over the limit nor been late on a payment. In 2 months (6 months after enrollment) i can apply for a credit limit increase but i think im gonna stick with $200

You ought to see what happens to your credit score when you pay your bills before the statement comes out. It really bumfuzzles them when you pay a little extra and carry a balance on your accounts.

I paid twice before the statement was even cut and carry a balance on my account. what happens? good? bad? please explain.

also, after (right after) i got my card, there was a news report about cards like this. people would sign up for the card and use it, and go over the limit. they were blaming the company and saying they thought they had $200 credit.

perfect case of lack of personal responsibility. or ignorance. when i was on the phone signing up, the lady told me 200 times that all the fees would be on the card to start with. she told me my beginning credit limit would be 50, and to pay it down if i wanted more. furthermore when the paperwork and card arrived. it was plastered all over the paperwork. CURRENT AVAILABLE CREDIT: $50, CURRENT BALANCE: $150. PAYMENTS MAY INCREASE YOUR AVAILABLE CREDIT

people just choose to ignore certain things and then bitc and moan when it bites them in the butt (the way my credit ignorance did when i was younger. ZING!)

Paying the balance off every month is fine. But as I understand it, carrying a balance over from month to month, avoiding late payments, and the length of time you do this, is how you build up your credit. The length of your credit history, and the way you make payments determines (at least in part) your credit score. The reason I keep this little Visa card I've had since I was 18 is because it's what makes my credit history 15 years old. If I cancel that card, I lose that "age" from my history and may lower my credit score.

There maybe some truth to that Rolex. I've had my Visa card forever,. Well, 30 years anyway. Never wanted one until one day I wanted to rent a car out of town. Jesus, I damn near had to buy it. Anyway I just talked to my insurance agent about that. That is what they use to rate you. He said Erie Insurance uses a 1 -26 scoring. 1 being the best. He has a score of 13 and he has NEVER seen anyone better than 5. I had a 3. So the one card I have had forever may well play into that.

LOL this is pretty funny. I was just looking at mine. Although I'm not going to post them on a public forum I will say I have you all beat.

0%! I use that thing called"CASH"

0% - American Express paid off monthly...

My AmEx card has actually been at 6.2 for years now. I, just the other day, got a notice that it was being raised to 13.25 unlessI called to tell them I didn't want it raised. If I DO call them to not have them raise it, I can no longer use it for ANYTHING or the rate will go up. Crappy.

I've got quite a balance on it too...unfortunately. Some of it is dumb mistakes, some of it was fun with no regrets and some of it was divorce-related. I've got a big plan to be absolutely, completely debt free by the time I'm 30...and it actually looks like I'll be able to pull it off if I stick to my guns...and slow down on buying guns. :D

My AmEx card has actually been at 6.2 for years now. I, just the other day, got a notice that it was being raised to 13.25 unlessI called to tell them I didn't want it raised. If I DO call them to not have them raise it, I can no longer use it for ANYTHING or the rate will go up. Crappy.

I've got quite a balance on it too...unfortunately. Some of it is dumb mistakes, some of it was fun with no regrets and some of it was divorce-related. I've got a big plan to be absolutely, completely debt free by the time I'm 30...and it actually looks like I'll be able to pull it off if I stick to my guns...and slow down on buying guns. :D
Several of the money manager advisors say to go get a burger flipping second job and direct every penny earned to paying off the credit cards. Do this when you're young so you can still hack the load.

Ha, I tried that last year. Worked from 4:30am til 10:pm Tuesday through Saturday. Most of it went to #3 of my list of reasons for debt. I threw a whole helluva lot of myself into that and didn't get much in return, besides knowledge, wisdsom and memories. Right now I don't have the ability to work a second job as my current job hours are erratic and change without notice frequently, and I have a good four or five hours of other work-related-work every night as well. I'm making plenty of money to get by, I just hafta cut back on the fun stuff a bit.

I don't know what mine is either..I think maybe around 12% on one of them, no idea on the other..but I also pay off the balances every month. Not carrying a balance does effect your credit rating..but also your debt to income ratio effects your credit rating. Personally, the piece of mind from not carrying debt is worth way more to me than a few points on my credit score.
Ranger is right about your insurance rates being effected by your credit rating. And just heard a story about a young man having to pay over 30% on an auto loan (I'd take the bus before I'd pay that) because of bad credit.
What a lot of the companies that cater to high-risk individuals will do is offer you a credit card with a low balance..and then when that's maxed out, instead of bumping up your credit limit, they'll offer you another low-balance card...and then let you use one to pay the other, etc etc. Next thing you know you've doubled your late fees and such. A lot will change though in 2010 with the new law that passed.

As most of us seem to agree - carry essentially a zero balance each month and never charge what you can't pay off on the due date, and the card interest rate is then immaterial.

Last December I picked up a Shell/Citi/Mastercard which rebates 10% of all Shell gas purchases and 1% of everything else, subtracted from the following months statement, for the first 6 months, then 5% of all Shell and 1% of everything else from then on.............All the Shell stations anywhere near here have a nickel off per gallon on Thursdays, so we time our gas purchases around that deal and wind up saving quite a bit on the monthly gas bill, and the Citi card hates me for buying NOTHING but gas on the card.

For daily use I have a Chase card account that is now 30 years old and has an astronomical limit. If you call your issuing company you can change account numbers and passwords occasionally with no penalty. Good idea if you do any Internet shopping, and the number changes have no effect on your credit scores.

I don't know what mine is either..I think maybe around 12% on one of them, no idea on the other..but I also pay off the balances every month. Not carrying a balance does effect your credit rating..but also your debt to income ratio effects your credit rating. Personally, the piece of mind from not carrying debt is worth way more to me than a few points on my credit score.
Ranger is right about your insurance rates being effected by your credit rating. And just heard a story about a young man having to pay over 30% on an auto loan (I'd take the bus before I'd pay that) because of bad credit.
What a lot of the companies that cater to high-risk individuals will do is offer you a credit card with a low balance..and then when that's maxed out, instead of bumping up your credit limit, they'll offer you another low-balance card...and then let you use one to pay the other, etc etc. Next thing you know you've doubled your late fees and such. A lot will change though in 2010 with the new law that passed.


what new law is that?

Copied and pasted from MSN Money:

The new rules prohibit:

Placing unfair time constraints on payments. A payment could not be deemed late unless the borrower is given a reasonable period of time, such as 21 days, to pay.

Placing too-high fees for exceeding the credit limit solely because of a hold placed on the account.

Unfairly computing balances in a computing tactic known as double-cycle billing.

Unfairly adding security deposits and fees for issuing credit or making it available.

Making deceptive offers of credit.

In addition, consumers will have to be given 45 days' notice before any changes are made to the terms of an account, including slapping on a higher penalty rate for missed or late payments. Under current rules, companies in most cases give 15 days' notice before making certain changes to the terms of an account.

visa is 7.99 and amex is 14.99 i believe.