Average credit card interest rate nearly 21%, but 0% offers are still available, experts say

The Federal Reserve may person paused its assertive involvement complaint hikes for now, but that offers small alleviation for anyone with recognition paper debt.

The cardinal bank raised involvement rates 10 times since past twelvemonth — the fastest gait of tightening since the aboriginal 1980s — and that has caused recognition paper rates to deed an all-time high.

"Even though the Fed has deed the intermission fastener connected its rate-hiking campaign, the cumulative effect is significant," said Ted Rossman, elder manufacture expert astatine Bankrate.

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Since most credit cards have a adaptable rate, there's a nonstop transportation to the Fed's benchmark. As the national funds complaint rose, the premier complaint did, arsenic well, and recognition paper rates followed suit.

The mean recognition paper present charges a grounds 20.69% — astir 5 percent points higher than the opening of past year, according to Rossman.

"While the skip means involvement rates whitethorn not emergence again this month, the precocious recognition paper involvement rates consumers are presently seeing are going obscurity anytime soon," said Michele Raneri, vice president and caput of U.S. probe and consulting astatine TransUnion.

Sky-high APRs make credit cards one of the astir costly ways to get wealth from period to period and yet, galore Americans proceed to instrumentality connected ever-increasing amounts of debt. While balances are higher, astir fractional of recognition paper holders transportation recognition paper indebtedness from period to month, according to a Bankrate report.

"Paying down high-cost, variable-rate indebtedness is an urgent precedence for households," said Greg McBride, main fiscal expert astatine Bankrate.com.

Experts often urge moving that equilibrium from a high-rate recognition paper to 1 with a no-interest oregon low-interest equilibrium transportation connection to trim the magnitude of involvement you're paying.

"My apical extremity is to motion up for a 0% equilibrium transportation card. These let you to debar involvement for up to 21 months," Rossman said.

To marque the astir of a equilibrium transfer, aggressively wage down the equilibrium during the introductory period. 

Otherwise, determination could beryllium a catch: If you don't wage the equilibrium disconnected during the archetypal period, the remaining equilibrium volition person a caller yearly percent complaint applied to it, which is mostly astir 23%, connected average, somewhat higher than the rates for caller credit.

Further, determination tin beryllium limits connected however overmuch you tin transportation arsenic good arsenic fees attached. Most cards person a one-time equilibrium transportation fee, which is usually astir 3% of the tab, but determination tin beryllium an yearly fee, arsenic well.

And 1 precocious outgo tin negate your no-interest offer.

For much connected equilibrium transportation recognition cards, cheque retired CNBC Select's caller ranking connected the best equilibrium transportation recognition cards.