Higher interest rates for new credit card offers have become the norm in recent months. Credit issuers that quickly jumped on the rate-jacking wagon last year have blamed the increases on tighter regulations set forth by the CARD Act, difficult economic conditions, and increased risk in consumer credit markets.
In fact, according to a recent report from Creditcards.com, the national average APR rose from 12.28 percent to 14.45 percent during the past six months alone—that's a percentage change of nearly 18 percent! But the one bank that's ironically known for its big red wagon with yellow wheels has finally decided to buck the norm, jump off the wagon, and take the road less traveled. Four of Wells Fargo's current credit card offers saw their rates drop in the Weekly Credit Card Rate Report. This move alone drove the national average down from last week's rise to 14.56 percent. I took a look at Wells Fargo's website, and several of their most popular no annual fee credit cards now offer variable rates (after any introductory/promotional rates) as low as 11.15 percent. For the Wells Fargo platinum card, new users may even qualify for an ongoing APR of 9.15%. Of course, not every applicant will qualify for the lowest rate possible, but it's certainly nice to finally see some rates moving in the right direction for consumers. Will other competitors follow suit? I'm not convinced the rate-jacking wagon has lost any of its horsepower quite yet, but what do you think?
