Gravitating toward retail credit card offers during the holiday season is a popular undertaking, but while these cards offer alluring discounts, the hidden costs can wind up regrettable. The average retail card's APR is 23.84%, which is more than 8 percentage points higher than the average for other types of credit cards. Some retailers offer cards which go as high as nearly 30%, "which is often the penalty rate on a general purpose credit card, the rate given to people who make a big mistake such as paying 60 days late," says Matt Schulz, senior industry analyst for CreditCards.com, an Austin, Texas-based credit card comparison company. "When a card is easier to get, it might attract a riskier borrower and they typically get higher APRs so banks can protect themselves if that borrower can't pay his bill," Schulz said.
More from Video
A Technical Look at the New Dow Jones Industrial Average
Salesforce, Amgen and Honeywell will give a lift to the DJIA going forward.
Conagra Brands Looks Tastier After Its Upgrade to Buy
CAG has hung onto the bulk of its recent gains, and could rise to the $50 area, according to the charts and indicators.
Biogen Bulls Get a Lift From Quant Upgrade and Strengthening Charts
Breaking down an approach to the long side of this biotech stock.
Is Renewable Energy the Defensive Stock Opportunity You're Missing
AMSC CEO discusses that and China challenges.
Takeda Pharmaceutical CEO Talks Big Pharma Trends
One of pharma's biggest CEO's talks M&A action on the exchange.
Real Money's message boards are strictly for the open exchange of investment ideas among registered users. Any discussions or subjects off that topic or that do not promote this goal will be removed at the discretion of the site's moderators. Abusive, insensitive or threatening comments will not be tolerated and will be deleted. Thank you for your cooperation.
If you have questions, please contact us here.