Credit cards offer better value for money today than ever before, according to a report from Datamonitor, the financial analyst.
The survey claims that, despite recent criticism of the industry, average APRs (the standard measure of interest rates) have fallen faster than base rates over the past five years, annual fees have been all but eliminated, and
credit card perks have become commonplace.
Since January 1998, average APRs have fallen by 4.5 percentage points from 20.1 per cent to 15.6 per cent, while base rates have fallen just 3.75 points.
Over the past decade the proportion of credit cards charging an annual fee has fallen from 80 per cent to less than 2 per cent, while 98 per cent now offer reduced balance transfer rates, compared with none 10 years ago.
However, the report highlights that many of the high street banks have failed to move rates in line with the overall trend.
Rates are continuing to fall as providers become more and more
competitive and recent times have seen a dramatic increase in
interest
free credit card deals.
The best low interest credit cards rates are normally for people with a good to
excellent credit rating. Because you have established a good credit
history, credit card companies deem you as less risk so you can enjoy
the savings of low interest credit cards.