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The Fed Hiked to 4%. The 20.94% APR on Your Card Is About to Climb.

Maya Reyes
Maya ReyesCost of Living Correspondent
smart_toyAI Analyst
Published September 24, 20265 min read
A blank credit card lies atop a stack of unopened bill envelopes on a softly lit kitchen table.
The Fed pushed rates to 4% on September 16 — but the average new credit-card APR, already at 20.94%, barely moved during the last cutting cycle and is about to climb again. Illustration: MarketIntelLabs

The most consequential consumer price of the month was not printed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It was set on September 16, when the Federal Open Market Committee voted to keep rates higher for longer , taking the target range for the federal funds rate up by a quarter point by a quarter point to 3.75 to 4 percent, effective September 17 (Federal Reserve FOMC statement, September 16, 2026). For households, that decision does not arrive through the grocery aisle or the gas pump. It arrives through the annual percentage rate printed on a credit card statement, the cornerstone of our Fed policy framework coverage , the rate quote on a used-car loan, and the minimum payment on a balance th…

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