US Credit Card Rates & Delinquency Monitor

Across the full sample, both card-rate series climbed sharply in the latest tightening cycle, but they did not move in lockstep. The headline rate on all accounts rose from 14.65% in Jan 2021 to 21.00% by Feb 2026, while the revolving-balance rate moved from 16.28% to 21.52% over the same span.

The spread between those two rates has been structurally wider since 2021 than it was before the pandemic-era trough. The latest spread is below its Aug 2021 high, but the post-2021 average gap still sits well above the pre-2021 norm, indicating a more persistent premium on interest-bearing balances.

• The dual-axis overlay shows delinquency recovering from its 2021 low after rates had already reset materially higher.
• The strongest recent alignment is between elevated absolute revolving rates and higher delinquency, not between delinquency and the widest spread reading.
• The scatter view reinforces that pattern: later observations move up and to the right as delinquency rises alongside still-high revolving rates, even as the spread cools from its peak.
• Because delinquency is reported quarterly, the overlay and scatter use quarterly markers to avoid overstating monthly precision.