Credit Card: Survey Says ...

In its 2005 credit card survey, the San Francisco-based nonprofit advocacy group Consumer Action examined the pricing policies of 146 cards from 47 issuers. Here are some findings which might interest you:

Annual Fees: The majority of cards (68 percent) don't charge annual fees. Of those that do, the average is $43.27.
Late fees: About 95% of cards carry late fees. The average late fee is $27.46.
Penalty Rate: 79% of issuers impose a penalty rate when cardholders are late with their payments. The average penalty rate has gone up to 24.23%, from 21.91 percent in 2004.
Over-the-limit fees: Again, 95% of cards have them and the average is $30.18, with a high of $39.
Bounced check fees: If your payment check bounces, 89% of banks surveyed will charge you an average fee of $28.61, with a high of $38.
Universal Default Rates: Even though you have a perfect record with a credit card company, your rate may get jacked up because something happened in another area of your financial life (like falling credit score, late payment on a loan or other obligation, bouncing a payment check on another account, too much debt, too much available credit, getting a new credit card, or even inquiring about a car loan or mortgage). You get to pay what is called universal default rate. About 45% of card issuers impose a universal default rate. The rates can be as high as 35% (at
Merrick Bank). The 2nd highest rate of 29.99 percent is imposed by Citibank, Bank of America and Providian.
Rewards: When it comes to rewards – e.g., airline miles, cash back, points for merchandise or gasoline -- the number of cards offering them has increased to 36% from 23% last year.