That new credit card will cost you

Americans shopping for a new credit card can expect to pay more.

The average interest rate on a new credit card hit a record 16.71%, the 10th consecutive week rates have hit new highs, according to the latest weekly report from CreditCards.com.

Rates on new plastic, which have risen as the Federal Reserve continues to hike its key borrowing rate as the economy gets stronger, are the highest since CreditCards.com began tracking them in mid-2017.

The national average credit-card rate has risen by 0.56% in the past six months, based on 100 of the most popular cards from dozens of lenders but excluding introductory “teaser” rates. And costs could jump at least another half percentage point this year if the Fed raises rates two more times as expected.

The bottom line: Credit-card borrowers can expect to pay more on stuff they buy with plastic if they can’t pay the balance off every month. At the end of 2017, the average credit-card balance was

$6,354, according to credit bureau Experian. More than four in 10 cardholders

(44%) had balances in the final quarter of 2017, American Bankers Association research shows. At the average rate for a new card, the annual interest rate cost would be $1,092, or $91 a month, for someone carrying a balance of $6,354.

So what’s a borrower to do to keep their rate from skyrocketing? Short of keeping a $0 balance, boost your credit score, shop for the best card deals, review your cards annually and ask for a lower rate if you’ve been paying bills on time, says Gage Kemsley of Oxford Wealth Advisors in Rio Rancho, N.M.