Credit card consumers are being encouraged to shop around for credit card deals after new figures showed that the average credit card rate was at its highest level in more than eight years.
According to moneysupermarket.com the average credit card rate hit 16.69% last month which is the highest level since February 2002 and is more than 33 times the Bank of England base rate, which has been fixed at 0.5% for more than a year.
Despite the base rate remaining low many of the major credit card issuers have continued to hike up their average percentage rates (APR) including MBNA, Barclaycard and Egg.
According to the research by the consumer website the highest credit card rates belong to RBS Classic, Thomas Cook and Ryanair credit cards which currently have an average APR of 19.9%
The average rate for savings on the other hand has seen a decline. The Head of Banking for moneysupermarket.com, Kevin Mountford, said: "Consumers will be confused by the fact the base rate is flat while savings rates are going down and there are increases in loan charges.
"The banks are balancing their books but this isn't working in favour of the customer. The banks will push the pricing as far as they can. People can only vote with their feet by actively seeking out the best product for them."
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