Revolving consumer credit, the category that holds most credit card debt, grew at a 14.5 percent seasonally adjusted annual rate in September 2026, the Federal Reserve reported on November 6. Balances reached $1,368.5 billion, up $16.3 billion from August, while the prime rate that anchors most card APRs held at 7.00 percent. The figures come from the Fed’s monthly G.19 consumer credit release, which covers September and arrived at the end of last week. Total consumer credit, which adds auto and student debt to card balances, rose at a 6.4 percent annual rate to $5,224.4 billion. The September card number reverses August, when revolving credit contracted at a 4.4 percent annual rate. It is the fastest monthly pace in the Fed’s own seasonally adjusted revolving series since November 2023. The release matters for two reasons. It is the clearest monthly read on whether households are leaning on cards to cover spending, and it carries the only official survey of what banks actually charge on those cards. That survey still reflects August pricing, so the first card rates measured after the Fed lifted prime to 7.00 percent on September 17 will not appear until the next quarterly reading. The Fed meets again on December 8 and 9, and what it decides will set the base rate on those balances into 2027.
- Revolving credit grew at a 14.5 percent annual rate in September, the fastest monthly pace since November 2023.
- Card balances reached $1,368.5 billion, a gain of $16.3 billion in one month after August’s decline.
- Total consumer credit rose at a 6.4 percent annual rate in September to $5,224.4 billion.
- The average card APR on all accounts was 21.19 percent in the Fed’s August survey, the latest available.
- Prime has stood at 7.00 percent since September 17 and the Fed next votes December 8 and 9.
What the September Credit Report Showed
The Fed’s G.19 release puts revolving credit outstanding at $1,368.5 billion in September, against $1,352.2 billion in August and $1,357.1 billion in July. The monthly swing is unusually wide for a series that normally moves in single-digit billions. August fell at a 4.4 percent annual rate, July rose at 2.4 percent, and September jumped at 14.5 percent. Nonrevolving credit, which covers auto loans and student debt and does not reprice with prime, told a calmer story. It rose at a 3.6 percent annual rate to $3,856.0 billion, close to August’s 4.1 percent pace. Revolving balances now account for 26.2 percent of the $5,224.4 billion in total consumer credit.
One month does not establish a trend, and the Fed marks September as preliminary and August as revised. The G.19 also warns in its footnotes that the series can carry breaks from source-data discontinuities, and that its percent changes are simple annual rates computed on unrounded figures. Still, the direction is consistent with a year of steady acceleration. Total consumer credit grew 2.3 percent in the third quarter of 2025, then 2.1 percent, 2.6 percent, and 3.1 percent across the following three quarters, before reaching 4.2 percent in the third quarter of 2026. That is close to a doubling of the growth rate in twelve months, and it has happened while the Fed has been raising rather than cutting its policy rate.
Why Card APRs Have Not Caught Up to Prime
The same release carries the Terms of Credit table, the government’s only regular survey of what banks charge on cards. For the third quarter of 2026 it reports an average APR of 21.19 percent across all card accounts and 22.36 percent across accounts assessed interest. Both readings are higher than the second quarter, at 20.94 percent and 22.15 percent, and both sit below where they stood in the third quarter of 2025, at 21.39 percent and 22.83 percent. The timing is the part most readers miss. A footnote to the table explains that the commercial bank rates are collected in the first calendar week of the middle month of each quarter. For the third quarter that means August, when prime was still 6.75 percent. So the 21.19 percent average describes a spread of 14.44 percentage points over prime at the moment it was measured, not over today’s 7.00 percent. The Fed raised prime to 7.00 percent on September 17, after the survey window closed. Card issuers reprice variable APRs on the next statement cycle, so most accounts carried the higher rate within weeks. The first official reading that captures it will be the fourth quarter figure, surveyed in November. The mechanics of that pass-through explain why a quarter of lag is normal in this table.
One Strong Month Inside a Slower Quarter
A single large month can hide what the quarter did. Revolving credit grew at a 4.1 percent annual rate across the third quarter, down from 4.9 percent in the second. September’s 14.5 percent print offset August’s contraction rather than adding to an already strong run. Nonrevolving credit did the opposite, accelerating to a 4.2 percent quarterly pace from 2.4 percent. Both categories landed on the same 4.2 percent figure for the quarter, the fastest quarterly reading for total consumer credit in the window the release prints.
Other loan terms in the table moved the same way. The average rate on a 60-month new car loan at commercial banks rose to 7.54 percent from 7.14 percent in the second quarter. The 72-month rate rose to 7.17 percent from 6.97 percent. The average rate on a 24-month personal loan reached 11.90 percent, the highest figure the current table prints and up from 11.14 percent a year earlier. Those are fixed-rate products, so they repriced because new loans were written at higher rates, not because existing borrowers saw an increase. Anyone comparing fixed-rate installment options against a variable card balance is weighing two different rate mechanics.
What This Means for Your Rates
Prime is the number to watch, not the fed funds rate. The Fed’s November 6 H.15 release puts the bank prime loan rate at 7.00 percent and the effective federal funds rate at 3.88 percent, a gap of 3.12 percentage points. Prime is the rate posted by a majority of the 25 largest insured commercial banks by domestic assets, and nearly every variable card APR is written as prime plus a margin set by the issuer and the borrower’s credit profile. When prime moves a quarter point, a variable APR of 21.19 percent becomes 21.44 percent, and the change appears on the next statement without any notice beyond the rate disclosure.
The December 8 and 9 meeting is the only remaining 2026 vote and carries a Summary of Economic Projections, so it will publish fresh rate forecasts as well as a decision. Short-term Treasury yields are already pricing something: the one-year yield closed at 4.28 percent on November 5 and the two-year at 4.46 percent, both well above the 3.88 percent effective funds rate. For anyone carrying a balance, the practical question is whether to keep it on a variable card at an average of 21.19 percent or move it to fixed-rate debt. Our prime rate tracker and rate forecast page update after each vote, and the meeting schedule lists every date through 2027.
Do not use the Fed’s 21.19 percent average to judge your own card. That figure blends promotional and zero-balance accounts. The number closer to what a revolver pays is the 22.36 percent average on accounts assessed interest. Find your own margin by subtracting 7.00 percent from the variable APR on your statement, then add any Fed increase directly to that APR.
Frequently Asked Questions
How fast is credit card debt growing right now?
Revolving credit, the Fed’s measure of card debt, grew at a 14.5 percent seasonally adjusted annual rate in September 2026 and reached $1,368.5 billion. That was a one-month gain of $16.3 billion and the fastest monthly pace since November 2023. Across the full third quarter the rate was 4.1 percent.
Is a 21 percent APR high for a credit card?
It is about average. The Fed’s latest survey puts the mean APR across all card accounts at 21.19 percent and at 22.36 percent across accounts that were actually charged interest. For the full year 2025 those averages were 21.22 percent and 22.32 percent. So a 21 percent offer is close to the middle of the market rather than unusually steep. Rates well above 25 percent usually reflect a thinner credit file, a secured card, or a retail card, and rates in the mid teens generally go to the strongest profiles.
What happens if I miss a credit card payment?
A single late payment typically triggers a late fee and interest on the full balance, since paying late forfeits the grace period that would otherwise apply to new purchases. Most issuers report the account as delinquent to the credit bureaus once it is 30 days past due, and that mark can stay on a credit report for years. Some agreements also allow a penalty APR after a serious delinquency. Calling the issuer before the statement closes is usually the cheapest move, because many will reverse a first late fee.
Is credit card interest tax deductible?
Personal credit card interest is not deductible. Congress ended the deduction for consumer interest in the Tax Reform Act of 1986, and card interest on household spending has not been deductible since the phase-out finished. Interest on card charges that are genuine business expenses can be deducted as a business expense, which is one reason sole proprietors are advised to keep a separate card. Mortgage interest and some student loan interest follow their own rules. A tax professional should confirm how any specific charge is treated.
When would my card APR change if the Fed moves on December 9?
Quickly. Large banks usually reset the prime rate the day after an FOMC decision, and because variable card APRs are written as prime plus a margin, the new rate applies from the start of your next billing cycle. In practice most cardholders see the change on the statement that closes within a few weeks of the vote. The Fed does not have to send advance notice for a change driven by an index, so the only warning is the variable rate language in your original agreement.
What does the prime rate have to do with my credit card?
It is the base your APR is built on. Prime has held at 7.00 percent since September 17, 2026, and it tracks the top of the Fed’s policy rate range, currently sitting 3.12 percentage points above the 3.88 percent effective federal funds rate. Issuers add a margin on top, so a card at 21.19 percent carries a margin of roughly 14.19 points. The margin is fixed by your agreement and your credit profile, while prime moves with the Fed, which is why a policy decision shows up on your bill.
Watching the November Card Rate Survey
Two dates decide what the next G.19 shows. October inflation data arrives November 10 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern, the last major price reading before the Fed votes, and the November card rate survey is being collected now, which makes the fourth quarter table the first to price in a 7.00 percent prime. The current prime rate, the broader rate picture, and the December meeting date are the three things to check before deciding what to do with a balance.
References
- Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Consumer Credit G.19, release date November 6, 2026, covering September 2026.
- Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, H.15 Selected Interest Rates, release date November 6, 2026.
- Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, FOMC Meeting Calendars.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index release schedule.
- Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Revolving Consumer Credit Owned and Securitized, REVOLSL.
- Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Bank Prime Loan Rate Changes, PRIME.
- Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, About the G.19 Consumer Credit release.
