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What APR Should I Accept? The Benchmark Table by Product and Band

Fair APR benchmarks for cards, personal loans and auto loans, by score band, dated 2026-11-07: where an offer stops being fair and starts costing dollars.

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Contents

What APR Should I Accept? The Benchmark Table by Product and Band

The number first. On 2026-11-04 the Bankrate Monitor printed 12.36% APR as the average three-year personal loan rate for a borrower with a 700 FICO score and a $5,000 loan1, and 19.71% as the national average credit card rate2. For your band, the fair APR is the one that sits at or under the printed benchmark for your product, in your score band, on a date you can point to. Anything above it is not “the market” — it is a gap, and the gap has a price. A 16.99% offer on a $20,000, 60-month loan against the 12.36% benchmark is 4.63 points, $2,904.49 in lifetime interest and $48.41 a month1. Dated, or it’s a guess.

APR Is Not the Rate

The interest rate is what the loan costs to carry. The APR is what it costs to get and carry, spread over the term as an annual number. In the United States the APR is a regulated disclosure — a finance charge expressed as an annual rate under the Truth in Lending Act, implemented by the CFPB through Regulation Z3. That is why the two numbers differ on the same offer, and why comparing one loan’s rate to another’s APR is a category error.

Three consequences for the benchmark table:

  • The APR is the comparison number. Two offers with the same rate can carry different APRs, because fees differ. The benchmark is stated in APR, so the offer must be compared in APR.
  • The APR is an average over the term. It smooths the fee into every month and hides where the money goes early. A loan can carry a fair APR and a prepayment penalty that taxes an early exit.
  • Rate and APR both move with your band. A benchmark printed for a 700 score is not the benchmark for a 600 score. The band is part of the number, not a footnote.

The Benchmark Table: Product by Score Band

One table, dated, per product. The auto table is the only one a bureau publishes band by band; the personal-loan and card anchors are printed averages for a defined profile, with band spread carried by the published lender ranges. Read each table on its own banding — VantageScore 4.0 bands on the Experian rows, classic FICO bands on the FICO rows; they are not interchangeable at the same score.

Personal loans (annual percentage rate)

Reference Rate Dated Source
Bankrate Monitor index, 700 FICO, $5,000, 3-year 12.36% 2026-11-04 Bankrate1
Federal Reserve G.19, commercial banks, 24-month 11.90% 2026-08 Fed G.194
Credit unions, 3-year average (NCUA) 10.64% 2025-Q4 NCUA via Bankrate5
Commercial banks, 3-year average (NCUA) 12% 2025 NCUA via Bankrate6
Federal credit union legal cap 18% standing NCUA via Bankrate7
Published online-lender range, low 5.96% 2026-11-04 Bankrate8
Published online-lender range, high 35.99% 2026-11-04 Bankrate9

For your band, the fair APR is the index — 12.36%1 — with the credit-union anchor 1.72 points under it and the 18% federal credit-union cap as the ceiling a good borrower should refuse to cross. A federal credit union can push a Payday Alternative Loan, up to $2,000 over up to 12 months, to a 28% cap1011; that is a product exception, not a benchmark.

Credit cards (annual percentage rate)

Reference Rate Dated Source
Bankrate national average 19.71% 2026-11-04 Bankrate2
Fed G.19, all card accounts 21.19% 2026-08 Fed G.1912
Fed G.19, accounts assessed interest 22.36% 2026-08 Fed G.1913
Bank-issued rewards card, average 19.25% 2026-09 Experian/Curinos14
Credit-union rewards card, average 14.96% 2026-09 Experian/Curinos15
Good rate, any issuer below 19.16% 2026-09 Experian16
Super prime band (720+), 2025 table 9% 2025 Business Insider17
Deep subprime band (300–579), 2025 table 23% 2025 Business Insider18

The 22.36% on accounts assessed interest is the number that matters to a carried balance: the all-accounts average is dragged down by people who pay in full13. Experian’s own line is that a good rate sits below 19.16%, with excellent-credit offers in the mid-teens and fair-to-poor offers in the 20s16. Cash advances are a separate product at 28.48% on average19.

Auto loans (annual percentage rate)

Bureau-published by band, VantageScore 4.0, first quarter of 2026:

VantageScore 4.0 band New car Used car Source
Super prime, 781+ 4.55% 6.30% Experian2021
Prime, 661–780 6.23% 8.77% Experian2223
Near prime, 601–660 9.67% 14.03% Experian2425
Subprime, 501–600 13.44% 19.42% Experian2627
Deep subprime, 300–500 16.01% 21.77% Experian2829
All borrowers, average 6.39% 11.43% Experian3031
Commercial banks, 60-month new 7.54% — Fed G.1932

The G.19 60-month print of 7.54%32 sits inside the prime band, which is what a bank-average line should do. The band table is the one to shop against: the gap between the super prime and deep subprime new-car lines, 4.55% and 16.01%2028, is the price of the score, not the price of the car.

Score bands, stated once

Classic FICO runs 300–850: 800–850 exceptional, 740–799 very good, 670–739 good, 580–669 fair, 300–579 poor33. Experian’s auto rows above are VantageScore 4.0 bands, 781+ and 661–780 included20. A 665 is prime in one model and upper-fair in the other; the offer is priced off the model the lender pulled, so ask which one.

Two asides

Two markets I read the same tables in run differently. The UK prints a statutory APR on the card itself; Canadian banks price unsecured loans off the bank prime rate. Neither publishes band tables of this kind. The band table below is a US convention.

Reading Your Offer Against the Benchmark

The gap method, in three moves:

  1. Find the benchmark for your product and band, with its date. Not the average for all borrowers, the line for your band.
  2. Subtract it from your APR. That is your gap, in points.
  3. Price the gap over your term. Points are a score; dollars are a decision.
  1. Find the benchmark for your product and band, with its date. — Not the average for all borrowers, the line for your band.
  2. Subtract it from your APR.
  3. Price the gap over your term. — Points are a score; dollars are a decision.

Two printed loan-offer sheets set side by side over an orange benchmark line, with a violet gap bracket between themPoints are a score; dollars are a decision.

Worked example, personal loan. Offer: 16.99% on $20,000 over 60 months. Benchmark: 12.36%1. Gap: 4.63 points. The payment runs $496.94 against the benchmark’s $448.54, and lifetime interest runs $9,816.64 against $6,912.15 — a gap of $2,904.49, or $48.41 a month1.

Worked example, auto. $30,000 over 60 months, new car. Super prime at 4.55%20 pays $559.97 a month and $3,598.37 in interest; deep subprime at 16.01%28 pays $729.70 and $13,782.07. The band gap is $10,183.70 over five years, on the same car.

Worked example, card. A $7,000 balance at $250 a month clears in 38 months at the 19.25% rewards-card average, $2,368 of interest, against 35 months and $1,664 at the 14.96% credit-union rewards average1415. The rate gap costs $704 and three months. The average card balance takes roughly 23 years and $7,723 of interest on minimum payments alone, in the Bankrate example at 20% on $5,00034.

Rate-shopping note, one line: recent auto, mortgage and student-loan inquiries inside a 14-day window count as a single hard pull in the FICO model35, so shop the band table in a fortnight, not a season.

The Fees That Move the Number

The APR absorbs some fees and not others; the boundary is the whole point of the disclosure.

  • Origination fee. Deducted upfront, financed over the term, inside the APR. Bankrate’s monitored range runs up to 12% of the loan, added to the balance36. On a $20,000, 60-month loan quoted at 10.00%, the fee lifts the APR to 11.32% at 3%, 12.24% at 5%, 13.66% at 8% and 14.65% at 10% — up 4.65 points, which is wider than the whole 2026 spread of the index (12.04% on 2026-04-01 to 12.54% on 2026-10-07)363738.
  • Points. Prepaid interest, inside the APR, priced against how long you keep the loan. A point you recoup in year three is free at year five and a loss at year two. “APR+” — rate plus points and dealer fees — is desk shorthand, not a legal disclosure term; compare the disclosed APR, then ask for the fee box.
  • Prepayment penalty. A contract term, outside the APR. It does not change the disclosed number; it changes what happens when you leave early. A fair APR with a prepayment penalty can still be the wrong loan for a borrower planning to refinance.

The card side of the boundary: a penalty APR on a late payment is disclosed, and the issuer owes 45 days’ notice before a rate change reaches new balances39; a prime-driven move arrives without notice, inside one to two billing cycles, as it did after the Federal Reserve raised the target range to 3.75–4.00% on 2026-09-16 by a 12–0 vote — the national average card rate followed 0.12 points higher the next month4041. Prime sat at 7%, the funds top plus three points, with the issuer markup averaging 12 to 13 points over it4243. The markup is credit risk; the prime is policy. When the Fed moves, your APR is contractually in the move.

The Monthly Check, 2026-11-07

This table is dated; the benchmarks expire with the next print. The personal-loan index moved from 12.04% in April to 12.54% in October and sat at 12.36% on 2026-11-0413738; the card average has moved with the policy rate. Revolving credit shrank at a 4.2% annual rate in August, the consumer deleveraging the averages are being printed against44. Next check: the first business week of December 2026, when the Monitor prints again. Two lines of the method are unchanged since the September table: read the benchmark for your band, dated, and price the gap over your term.

A monthly calendar page with one date circled in orange above a plain ruled rate-table strip with a violet checkmark and a pencil

Check Benchmark Dated
Personal loan, 700 FICO, 3-year 12.36% APR 2026-11-041
Credit card, national average 19.71% APR 2026-11-042
Auto, prime band 661–780, new car 6.23% APR 2026-Q122

The Number, the Date, the One Move

The number: 12.36% for the personal-loan profile, 19.71% on the card average, 4.55% for a super prime new car, 16.01% for a deep subprime one122028. The date: 2026-11-04 for the two Bankrate prints, 2026-Q1 for the bureau bands, 2026-08 for the Federal Reserve rows. The one move: take your offer’s APR, subtract the benchmark for your band, and divide the lifetime dollar gap by the number of months in your term — if the monthly number is more than a fee you could negotiate, negotiate the fee before you accept the rate.

Sources and check dates

Source What it supports Checked How
bankrate.com The Bankrate Monitor average personal loan rate is 12.36% for a customer with a 700 FICO score, a $5,000 loan and a three-year term; The Bankrate Monitor sur… 2026-11-07 rendered page
bankrate.com The Bankrate national average credit card interest rate is 19.71%, dated 2026-11-04; The record-high Bankrate national average credit card rate was 20.79%, s… 2026-11-07 rendered page
federalreserve.gov The FOMC raised the federal funds target range by 25 basis points to 3.75%–4.00% on 2026-09-16, approved by a 12–0 vote 2026-11-07 rendered page
federalreserve.gov Federal Reserve G.19 data put the average card interest rate on accounts assessed interest at 22.36% in August 2026; Federal Reserve G.19 data put the averag… 2026-08-18 archived snapshot
experian.com The average new-car loan rate in the US was 6.39% in the first quarter of 2026; The average used-car loan rate in the US was 11.43% in the first quarter of 2… 2026-08-18 archived snapshot
experian.com The average APR on a bank-issued rewards credit card was 19.25% in September 2026, on Curinos data carried by Experian; The average APR on a credit-union rew… 2026-10-08 archived snapshot
businessinsider.com Business Insider’s 2025 table puts the average credit card APR for the super prime band, 720 and above, at 9%; Business Insider’s 2025 table puts the average… 2026-11-07 rendered page
en.wikipedia.org The classic FICO score runs 300–850, classified by the bureaus as 800–850 exceptional, 740–799 very good, 670–739 good, 580–669 fair and 300–579 poor; Recent… 2026-11-07 live page
en.wikipedia.org In the United States the APR is governed by the Truth in Lending Act and implemented by the CFPB through Regulation Z — a finance charge expressed as an annu… 2026-11-07 live page

  1. Source: Bankrate, bankrate.com (https://www.bankrate.com/loans/personal-loans/average-personal-loan-rates/), 2026-11-07, rendered page. ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  2. Source: Bankrate, bankrate.com (https://www.bankrate.com/credit-cards/advice/current-interest-rates/), 2026-11-07, rendered page. ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  3. Not confirmed by Wikipedia (TILA / Regulation Z). Source: en.wikipedia.org (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annual_percentage_rate), 2026-11-07, live page. The legal framing is restated from a third-party encyclopedia; the statute and Regulation Z are published by the regulator. ↩︎

  4. Source: Federal Reserve, federalreserve.gov (http://web.archive.org/web/20261026204110/https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/g19/current/), 2026-08-18, archived snapshot. ↩︎

  5. Not confirmed by NCUA. Source: bankrate.com (https://www.bankrate.com/loans/personal-loans/average-personal-loan-rates/), 2026-11-07, rendered page. The figure is NCUA data restated on Bankrate’s page, not read on the regulator’s own site. ↩︎

  6. Not confirmed by NCUA. Source: bankrate.com (https://www.bankrate.com/loans/personal-loans/average-personal-loan-rates/), 2026-11-07, rendered page. The figure is NCUA data restated on Bankrate’s page, not read on the regulator’s own site. ↩︎

  7. Not confirmed by NCUA. Source: bankrate.com (https://www.bankrate.com/loans/personal-loans/average-personal-loan-rates/), 2026-11-07, rendered page. The rate cap is NCUA data restated on Bankrate’s page, not read on the regulator’s own site. ↩︎

  8. Source: Bankrate, bankrate.com (https://www.bankrate.com/loans/personal-loans/average-personal-loan-rates/), 2026-11-07, rendered page. ↩︎

  9. Source: Bankrate, bankrate.com (https://www.bankrate.com/loans/personal-loans/average-personal-loan-rates/), 2026-11-07, rendered page. ↩︎

  10. Not confirmed by NCUA. Source: bankrate.com (https://www.bankrate.com/loans/personal-loans/average-personal-loan-rates/), 2026-11-07, rendered page. The cap is NCUA program data restated on Bankrate’s page, not read on the regulator’s own site. ↩︎

  11. Not confirmed by NCUA. Source: bankrate.com (https://www.bankrate.com/loans/personal-loans/average-personal-loan-rates/), 2026-11-07, rendered page. The limit is NCUA program data restated on Bankrate’s page, not read on the regulator’s own site. ↩︎

  12. Source: Federal Reserve, federalreserve.gov (http://web.archive.org/web/20261026204110/https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/g19/current/), 2026-08-18, archived snapshot. ↩︎

  13. Source: Federal Reserve, federalreserve.gov (http://web.archive.org/web/20261026204110/https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/g19/current/), 2026-08-18, archived snapshot. ↩︎ ↩︎

  14. Source: Experian, experian.com (http://web.archive.org/web/20261008090046/https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/research/current-credit-card-interest-rate/), 2026-10-08, archived snapshot. ↩︎ ↩︎

  15. Source: Experian, experian.com (http://web.archive.org/web/20261008090046/https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/research/current-credit-card-interest-rate/), 2026-10-08, archived snapshot. ↩︎ ↩︎

  16. Source: Experian, experian.com (http://web.archive.org/web/20261008090046/https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/research/current-credit-card-interest-rate/), 2026-10-08, archived snapshot. ↩︎ ↩︎

  17. Not confirmed by Business Insider. Source: businessinsider.com (https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/credit-cards/average-credit-card-interest-rate), 2026-11-07, rendered page. A third-party table, printed for 2025; the score-banded card APR average is not published by a bureau on this page. ↩︎

  18. Not confirmed by Business Insider. Source: businessinsider.com (https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/credit-cards/average-credit-card-interest-rate), 2026-11-07, rendered page. A third-party table, printed for 2025; the score-banded card APR average is not published by a bureau on this page. ↩︎

  19. Source: Experian, experian.com (http://web.archive.org/web/20261008090046/https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/research/current-credit-card-interest-rate/), 2026-10-08, archived snapshot. ↩︎

  20. Source: Experian, experian.com (http://web.archive.org/web/20260818182906/https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/average-car-loan-interest-rates-by-credit-score/), 2026-08-18, archived snapshot. ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  21. Source: Experian, experian.com (http://web.archive.org/web/20260818182906/https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/average-car-loan-interest-rates-by-credit-score/), 2026-08-18, archived snapshot. ↩︎

  22. Source: Experian, experian.com (http://web.archive.org/web/20260818182906/https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/average-car-loan-interest-rates-by-credit-score/), 2026-08-18, archived snapshot. ↩︎ ↩︎

  23. Source: Experian, experian.com (http://web.archive.org/web/20260818182906/https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/average-car-loan-interest-rates-by-credit-score/), 2026-08-18, archived snapshot. ↩︎

  24. Source: Experian, experian.com (http://web.archive.org/web/20260818182906/https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/average-car-loan-interest-rates-by-credit-score/), 2026-08-18, archived snapshot. ↩︎

  25. Source: Experian, experian.com (http://web.archive.org/web/20260818182906/https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/average-car-loan-interest-rates-by-credit-score/), 2026-08-18, archived snapshot. ↩︎

  26. Source: Experian, experian.com (http://web.archive.org/web/20260818182906/https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/average-car-loan-interest-rates-by-credit-score/), 2026-08-18, archived snapshot. ↩︎

  27. Source: Experian, experian.com (http://web.archive.org/web/20260818182906/https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/average-car-loan-interest-rates-by-credit-score/), 2026-08-18, archived snapshot. ↩︎

  28. Source: Experian, experian.com (http://web.archive.org/web/20260818182906/https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/average-car-loan-interest-rates-by-credit-score/), 2026-08-18, archived snapshot. ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎ ↩︎

  29. Source: Experian, experian.com (http://web.archive.org/web/20260818182906/https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/average-car-loan-interest-rates-by-credit-score/), 2026-08-18, archived snapshot. ↩︎

  30. Source: Experian, experian.com (http://web.archive.org/web/20260818182906/https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/average-car-loan-interest-rates-by-credit-score/), 2026-08-18, archived snapshot. ↩︎

  31. Source: Experian, experian.com (http://web.archive.org/web/20260818182906/https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/average-car-loan-interest-rates-by-credit-score/), 2026-08-18, archived snapshot. ↩︎

  32. Source: Federal Reserve, federalreserve.gov (http://web.archive.org/web/20261026204110/https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/g19/current/), 2026-08-18, archived snapshot. ↩︎ ↩︎

  33. Not confirmed by Wikipedia (bureau banding). Source: en.wikipedia.org (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_score_in_the_United_States), 2026-11-07, live page. The band classification is restated by a third-party encyclopedia; the underlying bands are published by the bureaus. ↩︎

  34. Source: Bankrate, bankrate.com (https://www.bankrate.com/credit-cards/advice/current-interest-rates/), 2026-11-07, rendered page. ↩︎

  35. Not confirmed by Wikipedia (FICO scoring). Source: en.wikipedia.org (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_score_in_the_United_States), 2026-11-07, live page. The scoring rule is restated from a third-party encyclopedia and the page flags the scoring section as out of date. ↩︎

  36. Source: Bankrate, bankrate.com (https://www.bankrate.com/loans/personal-loans/average-personal-loan-rates/), 2026-11-07, rendered page. ↩︎ ↩︎

  37. Source: Bankrate, bankrate.com (https://www.bankrate.com/loans/personal-loans/average-personal-loan-rates/), 2026-11-07, rendered page. ↩︎ ↩︎

  38. Source: Bankrate, bankrate.com (https://www.bankrate.com/loans/personal-loans/average-personal-loan-rates/), 2026-11-07, rendered page. ↩︎ ↩︎

  39. Source: Bankrate, bankrate.com (https://www.bankrate.com/credit-cards/advice/current-interest-rates/), 2026-11-07, rendered page. ↩︎

  40. Source: Federal Reserve, federalreserve.gov (https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/monetary20260916a.htm), 2026-11-07, rendered page. ↩︎

  41. Source: Bankrate, bankrate.com (https://www.bankrate.com/credit-cards/advice/current-interest-rates/), 2026-11-07, rendered page. ↩︎

  42. Source: Bankrate, bankrate.com (https://www.bankrate.com/credit-cards/advice/current-interest-rates/), 2026-11-07, rendered page. ↩︎

  43. Source: Bankrate, bankrate.com (https://www.bankrate.com/credit-cards/advice/current-interest-rates/), 2026-11-07, rendered page. ↩︎

  44. Source: Federal Reserve, federalreserve.gov (http://web.archive.org/web/20261026204110/https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/g19/current/), 2026-08-18, archived snapshot. ↩︎

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