It is no secret that credit card accounts have become an extremely important financial tool that many people depend on to help them obtain financial stability! However, the simple fact is that many people don't understand the single most factor associated with credit card accounts, the annual percentage rates! The annual percentage rates charged by a credit card account are the source of the majority of fees that will be charged to people as a result of using their charge cards. With that said, here is a list of the most common types of credit card APRs for those people who are a bit lost in this topic!

Promotional annual percentage rates: The first type of APR that people generally notice on a charge card account is called the promotional APR. Promotional interest rates are very low short term APRs designed to grab the attention of Americans who are searching for a new credit card account! In many cases, promotional APRs can be as low as 0%. Generally, these promotional interest rates will apply to the entire balance from the date the charge card is activated to the day the promotional period expires (generally 6 to 12 months later). However, promotional interest rates and the balances that they apply to will vary depending on the credit card in question.

Standard annual percentage rates: Standard annual percentage rates are generally the most widely recognized annual percentage rate on credit card accounts by Americans. The standard interest rate is the interest rate that will apply to balances accumulated through standard purchases by way of credit card accounts. Purchases like gas station, grocery store, restaurant and any other day to day purchases are all qualified as standard purchases. Therefore, this APR will generally be charged to the majority of balances that Americans carry!

Cash advance APRs: Unfortunately, consumers aren't generally aware of the cash advance annual percentage rate until it is too late. The cash advance interest rate is generally the second highest APR on a charge card, in most cases it is over 20%! This interest rate will be applied to balances accumulated through cash transactions. Cash transactions are any transaction that results in cash being transferred from the charge card account to consumers. These cash transactions include wire cash transfers, ATM transactions even cash back at grocery stores!

Default APRs: The default interest rate on a charge card account is the interest rate that Americans simply don't ever want to pay. As a matter of fact, the default interest rate is generally the highest annual percentage rate on a charge card and for good reason. This is because, Americans will only be charged the default APR if they do something wrong. Things like late payments, missed payments and spending over the credit limit are all reasons people may find themselves paying the default APR on a charge card!

I hope that this article has answered any questions that Americans may have had about charge card account annual percentage rates. However, with such a vital topic, it is impossible to answer all questions all consumers may have in one article. Therefore, if you are one of the people that still finds themselves with questions after reading this article, please feel free to visit the source of the information found here, JEMCreditCards.com!