Credit Cards & Rewards
New card launches, reward program changes, sign-up bonuses, annual fee comparisons, cashback and travel cards, and how to use credit cards strategically.
Latest in Credit Cards & Rewards
Credit-card interest rates are stuck near 22%, the most expensive consumer-debt cycle on record
The interest rate on credit card balances that actually accrue a monthly finance charge averaged 22.15% in the second quarter of 2026, according to the...
Regulators are letting big banks keep charging more than $17 billion a year in credit-card late fees
Credit card issuers collected more than $17 billion in late fees in 2024, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s own December 2025 market report...
A federal court threw out the $8 cap on credit card late fees, so the typical penalty is back near $32
A consent judgment signed in a Fort Worth federal courtroom in April 2025 erased the $8 ceiling the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau had placed on...
A credit card’s grace period skips interest when you pay the full balance
The grace period is the single feature that lets a credit card be used without ever paying interest, yet it is widely misunderstood as automatic....
The Fair Credit Billing Act gives you 60 days to dispute a wrong credit-card charge
A wrong number on a credit-card statement is not something an account holder simply has to swallow. A federal law written for exactly this problem,...
You can dispute a credit-card billing error in writing and force the issuer to investigate
A wrong charge on a credit-card statement is not something a cardholder simply has to absorb. Federal law gives every consumer the right to challenge...
Credit-card interest now averages above 20%, so carrying a balance costs more than ever
The average interest rate on credit card accounts that carry a balance climbed to 22.15% in the second quarter of 2026, one of the highest...
Paying your credit-card bill before the statement closes can lower your credit score
A habit most cardholders assume can only help — paying a credit-card balance early, before the statement closes — can quietly cost a few points...
Credit cards stay near 20% after the Fed leaves rates unchanged
The Federal Reserve’s decision to hold its benchmark range steady does not freeze every credit-card account at one rate, but it removes the immediate relief...
Stolen credit-card charges generally leave you owing no more than $50
Federal credit-card protections put a $50 ceiling on qualifying unauthorized charges made with a lost or stolen card before the issuer is notified, and many...
Credit-card delinquencies hit a 15-year high as the average card rate holds near 21%
The share of credit card balances that are seriously past due has risen to a 15-year high, even as the average interest rate on those...
Paying your credit-card bill before the statement closes can lower your score.
Credit-card issuers send just one balance figure to the credit bureaus each month, and it is rarely the balance on any given day. It is...
The $8 cap on credit-card late fees is dead, so banks can charge $30 or more again
Credit cardholders who miss a payment are once again exposed to fees of $30 or more after a federal court vacated the Consumer Financial Protection...
Adding a spouse as an authorized user on an old, well-paid credit card can lift their credit score without opening a new account
Married couples trying to qualify for a mortgage or auto loan at competitive rates can hit a wall when one partner’s credit score lags behind...
Zero interest for up to 21 months is what a balance-transfer card can buy you to pay down debt
Consumers carrying high-interest credit card balances now face a direct choice: keep paying elevated rates or use a balance-transfer card offering zero percent interest for...
Federal law caps what a lost or stolen credit card can cost you at $50
Consumers who lose a credit card or have one stolen face a hard ceiling on what they can be forced to pay for fraudulent charges:...
Credit-card late fees are staying near $32 after regulators dropped a plan to cut them to $8
For a while it looked as though credit-card late fees were about to shrink dramatically. A federal proposal would have capped the typical charge at...
Ask and most cardholders get a lower APR, yet few paying 20% ever call
Millions of credit card holders carry balances at purchase APRs above 20 percent, and some pay rates that top 30 percent, yet a striking number...
The $8 cap on credit-card late fees was struck down, sending them back toward $32
Credit card holders who miss a payment will keep paying roughly $32 in late fees after a federal court struck down the Consumer Financial Protection...
Most cardholders who simply call and ask get their interest rate lowered, yet almost no one with a 21% card does
Millions of Americans carry credit cards with annual percentage rates above 21 percent, paying hundreds of extra dollars in interest each year. Survey data archived...