What is APR – and does yours measure up?

If you’ve ever shopped around for credit cards, you’ve probably seen the term “APR,” with lots of associated footnotes. You know it’s related to your interest rates, but most people aren’t sure – what is APR?

APR stands for annual percentage rate, and it is used in all sorts of financial settings where you’re borrowing money, including credit cards, auto loans, mortgages, and more.

For credit cards, this represents your interest rate over the year. If you carry a balance on your credit card (meaning you don’t pay your entire statement balance down every month), the amount of the interest payments you’ll owe to your card depends on your APR.

APR is a less critical factor in choosing a card for those who won’t carry a balance. If you might need to carry a balance, a low APR can save you a lot of money in the long term. It’s essential to pay attention to that rate when deciding between credit cards. We’ll tell you everything you need to know to be an expert on your APR options.

What is APR?

APR, or annual percentage rate, calculates what you owe your credit card company if you don’t pay your entire bill on time. However, it’s not relatively as easy as just multiplying your general APR by your outstanding balance to figure out what you owe. First, you need to get that annual rate down to the rate your credit card will use.

First, divide the APR of your credit card candidates by the number of days in a year to get your daily periodic rate:

Then, multiply the daily rate by the number of days in the billing period to get your monthly rate. Finally, multiply that rate by your outstanding balance to find out how much interest you’d owe:

However, when you compare APRs for credit card offers, they’ll all be broken down the same way. To choose between credit cards, no need to do the math – choose the card with the lowest purchase APR, both during the promotional period and afterward.

My options list different types of APRs – what do they mean?

Many credit cards have different APRs for different uses of the credit card. So, you may not pay the same interest rate on regular credit card purchases as you would on a cash advance.

Make sure to take a close look at all of the card’s types of APR, not just the low introductory rates. Better rates for some of these types may help you differentiate between all the card options out there.

What’s a good APR? What can I expect?

The APRs you’re offered will depend on your credit score and the cards you’re looking at. Promotions may make APRs for some cards look lower than they’ll be for the long term, so make sure you know what you’re getting into. Right now, the average APR for all cards is 17.15%.

However, this number depends on what kind of card you’re looking at. Especially around the holiday shopping season, beware of tempting offers for store cards, with a median APR of 25.64%.

If you’re considering a card with an APR above the average, 17.5%, it may be best to keep shopping around. The average low-interest card has a rate of only 14.19%, so there are good options out there.

So, what is APR?

Your credit card APR determines how much you’ll owe your credit card company if you don’t pay your statement balances down in full and on time. Pay attention to the APRs that you’ll plan to use.

For many, that will be your purchase APR. Make sure it’s close to or below the average, especially if you have a good credit score. That score means you should be getting the best rates! Making APR comparisons the key to your credit card choice will help you save money in the long run.