Free Credit information including Credit Reports, Credit Cards, scores and much more

Free Credit Report Home

free credit report 

Looking for Credit Cards? 

Real Estate Information

Great Credit Links

Annual Percentage Rate

The APR is a measure of the cost of credit, expressed as a yearly rate.

The card issuer also must disclose the "periodic rate" - the rate applied to your outstanding balance to figure the finance charge for each billing period.

Some credit card plans allow the issuer to change your APR when interest rates or other economic indicators - called indexes - change. Because the rate change is linked to the index's performance, these plans are called "variable rate" programs. Rate changes raise or lower the finance charge on your account. If you're considering a variable rate card, the issuer must also provide various information that discloses to you:

• that the rate may change; and
• how the rate is determined - which index is used and what additional amount, the "margin," is added to determine your new rate.

A lot of the information on this site was taken from the FTC. Some of it copied directly. If you want, call them at 1-877-FTC-HELP