Interest rates have been on a steady incline ever since the Federal Open Market Committee, the Federal Reserve's policy-maker, began a flurry of rate hikes last June. Since then, the committee has raised rates five times. Each time, prime jumped by .25 percent. Increases in interest rates will not abate anytime soon. May. It will take some issuers until June to adjust rates for the March jump in prime.
Most financial institutions review rates monthly or quarterly.
American Express reviews rates twice a year, in April and October. Make your move now For consumers with high levels of card debt, now might be the time to consider options such as transferring balances to a lower-rate card. It costs money to acquire customers and when they don't stick around issuers get testy. Credit card companies have tried lots of provisions to slow down the balance-surfing segment. Some of those tactics include prohibiting balance transfers unless they're for large amounts, or treating them like cash advances, which carry high fees and no grace period.