Now we see it's very common for these store cards to charge over 30%." Just before the Fed began its rate-cutting cycle in September, many retailers and their bank partners raised interest rates on their store cards to protect their profits when the federal funds rate — which determines their own interest rates — came down. Now, the average interest rate on a store card is at an all-time high just ahead of the holiday shopping season, which is when most consumers sign up for store cards. That was less than half of the interest rate increase for store cards seen from September 2023 to September 2024, when the federal funds rate didn't budge. When asked why they increased the APR on their store cards, the companies that returned CNBC's request for comment pointed vaguely to industry standards and the current economic environment.

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Persons: Tommy, Petco, Ted Rossman, it's, Jasmine Matheney, Nordstrom, Matheney, you've, preemptively Organizations: U.S, Federal Reserve, Navy, Academy Sports, Fed, CNBC, Comenity Bank, Big Lots Locations: Petco, Burlington, Macy's, Michael's, Michigan