 TITLE: What to Know Before Getting a Retail Credit Card CONTENT: Store Credit Cards Have Higher Interest Rates on Average\n--------------------------------------------------------\nOne of the biggest downsides of store credit cards is that they usually charge much higher interest rates than other credit cards. The average credit card APR currently hovers around 17%, according to the Federal Reserve. But retail credit card APRs are far higher—as much as 10 percentage points higher or more—and they continue to increase annually. This means a retail card is a flat-out bad idea if you need to carry a balance since you'll pay dearly in interest.\nAlso, beware that some retailers promote credit cards with so-called 0% APR period offers to tempt you to sign up. Unlike a 0% intro APR card from a major credit card issuer, however, a store-only interest-free offer might require you to pay the full amount of deferred interest if you have any balance whatsoever at the end of the offer period. END