Yes, a 24.99% interest rate for a credit card is considered high. Most credit card interest rates typically range from about 15% to 25%, depending on factors like the cardholder's creditworthiness and the type of card.
Generally, an APR below 21% is relatively low. Anything over 24% is more expensive. If you pay off your credit card balance in full every month, the APR won't be as important as you won't be paying interest. But if you forget and the APR is high, the interest charges will quickly rack up.
Say you owe $5,000 on your credit card and your APR is 25.99%, a bit more than the national average. If you set a goal to pay off your balance in one year, your monthly payment would come out to around $478 per month.
Car Loan APRs by Credit Score
Excellent (750 - 850): 2.96 percent for new, 3.68 percent for used. Good (700 - 749): 4.03 percent for new, 5.53 percent for used. Fair (650 - 699): 6.75 percent for new, 10.33 percent for used. Poor (450 - 649): 12.84 percent for new, 20.43 percent for used.
Even people with good credit scores make mistakes, and a bank may charge a penalty APR on your credit card without placing a negative mark on your credit report. Penalty APRs typically increase credit card interest rates significantly due to a late, returned or missed payment.
How much is 26.99 APR on $3,000? An APR of 26.99% on a $3,000 balance would cost $67.26 in monthly interest charges.
An APR is the interest rate you are charged for borrowing money. In the case of credit cards, you don't get charged interest if you pay off your balance on time and in full each billing cycle. Card issuers express this rate annually, but to find your monthly interest rate, simply divide by 12.
A 24.99% APR on a credit card is higher than the average interest rate for new credit card offers. A 24.99% APR means that the credit card's balance will increase by approximately 24.99% over the course of a year if the cardholder carries a balance the whole time.
Key takeaways
A good credit card APR is one that's at, or below, the national average. The national average credit card APR is nearly 25%. Credit scores and APRs tend to be inversely related. A high credit score typically yields a lower APR, while a low credit score yields a high APR.
Use the debt snowball method
In order to use this method, list all of your credit card debts from lowest balance to highest balance. Now start concentrating on wiping out the credit card with the lowest balance while still making the minimum payments on the other cards. The point of this strategy is to build momentum.
There are some differences around how the various data elements on a credit report factor into the score calculations. Although credit scoring models vary, generally, credit scores from 660 to 724 are considered good; 725 to 759 are considered very good; and 760 and up are considered excellent.
Your credit card's APR is the interest rate you are charged on any unpaid credit card balances you have every month. Your monthly statement may break down your credit card APR yearly, but you can break it down to a monthly APR yourself.
Balance transfer fee. This fee will typically be 3% to 5% of the amount transferred, which translates to $30 to $50 per $1,000 transferred. The lower the fee, the better, but even with a fee on the high end, your interest savings might easily make up for the cost.
For someone with a good or very good credit score, an APR of 20% could be good, while a 12% APR may be good for someone with an excellent score. If your score is lower, an APR of 25% could be considered good.
Pay off your balance on time and in full; this means the total amount on the due date (to avoid purchase APR, late payment APR/fees). If you can't pay off your balance in full, at least pay the minimum payment (the lowest amount required by your card issuer in order to not consider it a late payment).
Your APR matters if you don't pay your balance in full every month. If you carry a credit card balance, your card's APR is critical. When you don't pay off your statement balance in full, your lender charges you interest on any remaining balance.
For example, if your APR is 29.99%, 29.99% divided by 365 days is 0.082% per day in interest. Your credit card company usually offers a grace period between your statement closing date and your due date. You won't owe interest if you pay your balance in full by the due date.
A 24.99% APR is reasonable but not ideal for credit cards. The average APR on a credit card is 22.77%. A 24.99% APR is decent for personal loans.
Example: A six year fixed-rate loan for a $25,000 new car, with 20% down, requires a $20,000 loan. Based on a simple interest rate of 3.4% and a loan fee of $200, this loan would have 72 monthly payments of $310.54 each and an annual percentage rate (APR) of 3.74%.
Because of the high interest rates and risk of going upside down, most experts agree that a 72-month loan isn't an ideal choice. Experts recommend that borrowers take out a shorter loan. And for an optimal interest rate, a loan term fewer than 60 months is a better way to go.