Travel Credit Cards for Average Credit (2026 Data)

The average credit score in the United States is 714¹, and it sits in a band where a new credit card is expensive. Cards opened in 2024 by people scoring 700 to 719 carried an average APR of 28.73%², only 2.90 percentage points³ below the 25.83%² charged at scores of 760 and above. Price is not where average credit is sorted out, though. In 2024, 84.14%² of general purpose card applications from superprime consumers were approved, against 31.46%² from near-prime consumers with scores of 620 to 659.

Travel credit cards for average credit are judged on those same numbers: the interest rate, the chance of approval, the credit line, the annual fee and the rewards that actually reach the cardholder. The sections below give each one by credit tier, with the rates in force on September 26, 2026. Two results run against intuition. Near-prime cardholders earn more rewards per dollar of spending than superprime ones, 1.94%² against 1.42%², and one large issuer labels its whole travel rewards line for excellent to good credit, not fair.⁴

What counts as average credit

On the FICO Score scale of 300 to 850, scores of 580 to 669 are rated fair, below the average of US consumers, and 670 to 739 are rated good, near or slightly above it.⁵ The average FICO Score was 714¹ in April 2026 data, unchanged since October 2025 and one point lower than a year earlier. A second widely used model, VantageScore 4.0, averaged 701⁶ in August 2026; it has its own scale, so the two averages are not directly comparable.

Official card statistics use six credit tiers instead of the fair and good labels. The average score falls in the prime tier, 660 to 719, while near-prime (620 to 659) and subprime (580 to 619) cover most of the fair range.² The table matches the two scales.

Average credit does not mean going without cards. In July 2024, 93.83%² of near-prime consumers held at least one credit card, up from 91.74%² in December 2014, and 90.39%² of subprime consumers did. At the end of 2023, 57.16%² of near-prime consumers held three or more cards, close to the 58.33%² of prime consumers.

Who opens new cards today

Among new accounts at the largest banks, the share opened with a credit score under 660 peaked at 26.72%⁷ in 2015 and fell to 16.57%⁷ in 2024 and 16.61%⁷ in 2025. The latest quarter points the other way: 19.15%⁷ in the first quarter of 2026, 1.38 percentage points³ above the fourth quarter of 2025.

Extended as a straight line, the 2013-2025 trend would reach about 6.4%³ by 2050. That is our calculation, not a forecast, and the latest quarters have moved up, not down. The typical new card still goes to a strong score: in the first quarter of 2026 the median new account was opened with a score of 736⁷, and a quarter of new accounts had 673⁷ or less, which is inside the prime tier that holds the average.

The APR a new card carries by credit score

Interest rates rise step by step as scores fall. For general purpose cards opened in 2024, the average APR was 25.83%² at scores of 760 and above, 28.73%² in the 700-719 band that holds the average score, 29.85%² at 620-639 and 30.00%² under 620. From the top band to the bottom, the spread is 4.17 percentage points³.

Every band paid far more than a decade earlier. The 700-719 band's average rose from 20.02%² in 2014 to 28.73%² in 2024, 8.71 percentage points³ higher, and the 760+ band rose 8.52 percentage points³. Most of the increase from 2022 to 2024 came from the prime rate that variable card APRs are tied to.² Inside a tier, the score still matters a little: in the prime and near-prime tiers, the top 20 scores of the range paid about 50 basis points² less than the bottom 20.

Across all accounts, not only new ones, the tiers moved together. The near-prime average climbed from 20.56%² in the first quarter of 2015 to 28.35%² in the fourth quarter of 2024, and the 2024 rates were the highest since at least 2015.²

So how much of that rate is the index and how much is the credit score? The margin, the part of the APR above the prime rate, answers it. On near-prime general purpose cards tied to the prime rate, the margin was 19.65 percentage points² in the fourth quarter of 2024, up 2.79 points³ from 2015; for superprime it was 13.72 points², up 2.11³. Margins rose in every tier between 2015 and 2024, so part of the higher price is the lender's markup, not only the index.²

The average credit card APR for travel purchases in 2026

No separate APR exists for travel. A flight or a hotel charged to a card carries the card's purchase rate, the one rate an issuer prints for all purchases.⁸ The latest all-bank figure, for the second quarter of 2026, is 20.94%⁹ across all card accounts and 22.15%⁹ on accounts that were charged interest, 1.21 points³ higher. At the largest banks, the average purchase APR on general purpose cards was 23.99%⁷ on all accounts and 26.50%⁷ on new accounts in the first quarter of 2026.

Those figures cover every credit tier. Measured over a full year, the all-account average reached 21.58%⁹ in 2024, the highest since the series began in 1994, 9.71 points³ above 2014, and eased to 21.22%⁹ in 2025.

A straight line through all 31 years rises only 0.087 points³ a year and reaches about 18.0%³ in 2050, within the 11.87%⁹ to 21.58%⁹ range of the past decade. A fit over 2010-2025 alone shows a much steeper recent trend, about 34.2%³ by 2050, because the 2022-2024 run-up dominates it. Both are our calculations, not forecasts, and the chart shows only the full-period line.

The largest banks report the rate on new cards separately, and new cards always cost more than the book as a whole: 2.51 points³ more in the first quarter of 2026. Both averages peaked in the third quarter of 2024, at 24.87%⁷ for all accounts and 27.78%⁷ for new ones, and have eased since.

The index behind variable rates moved again this month. The prime rate rose from 6.75%¹⁰ to 7.00%¹⁰ on September 17, 2026, a 0.25-point³ step, after three cuts in late 2025. Between March 2022 and July 2023 it had climbed 5.25 points³, from 3.25%¹⁰ to 8.50%¹⁰. A variable card APR follows the index, and the second-quarter 2026 averages above were measured before the September step.⁹

Approval odds and credit lines

The sharpest difference between tiers is not the price but the answer. In 2024, 31.46%² of near-prime applications for general purpose cards were approved, against 56.51%² in the prime tier and 84.14%² for superprime, 2.67³ times the near-prime rate. Under one-fifth of applications from subprime and deep subprime consumers were approved.²

Store cards are easier to get: near-prime applicants were approved 59.84%² of the time for private label cards, 1.90³ times the general purpose rate. Near-prime consumers also applied less often, with 10.997 million² general purpose applications in 2024, down from 12.369 million² in 2023.

New accounts at near-prime scores have been falling since 2022. Lenders opened 11.542 million² near-prime general purpose accounts in 2022 and 7.778 million² in 2024, 32.6%³ fewer, while deep subprime openings rose to 6.821 million².

Once approved, average credit gets a smaller line. At the end of 2024 the average general purpose credit line was $3,309² for near-prime cardholders, $5,795² for prime and $13,198² for superprime, 3.99³ times the near-prime line.

New lines at the largest banks show the same ladder.⁷ In the first quarter of 2026 the median credit limit on a new card was $500⁷ for scores under 660, $2,500⁷ for 660 to 719 and $7,500⁷ for 720 and above, 15³ times the under-660 limit.

Lines also grow more slowly at average credit. In the fourth quarter of 2024 only 1.83%² of near-prime general purpose accounts got a credit line increase that the issuer offered on its own, down from 6.36%² in the fourth quarter of 2021, while prime accounts got 4.35%².

Smaller lines are used harder. Near-prime cardholders used 66.76%² of their available credit on average in 2023, against 48.86%² in the prime tier and 6.64%² for superprime.

Annual fees and the cost of carrying a balance

Fewer cards for average credit charge an annual fee than a decade ago. The share of near-prime general purpose accounts with a fee fell from 27.08%² in 2015 to 13.88%² in 2024, 13.20 points³ lower, and is now close to the prime tier's 13.52%².

Where a fee is charged, it has grown. Near-prime accounts that paid a fee were charged $84.21² on average in 2024, 1.81³ times the $46.53² of 2015, and still $64.02³ below the superprime average of $148.23².

The fee is small next to the interest bill for anyone who carries a balance. For revolving general purpose accounts in 2024, interest and fees came to 27.78%² of balances in the near-prime tier and 13.18%² in superprime, a gap of 14.60 points³. The effective interest rate alone was 24.48%² for near-prime.

Most active near-prime accounts pay that cost. In 2024, 81.68%² of them revolved a balance, 29.42%² made only the minimum payment and the average account paid 1.68² late fees a year. Across all tiers, about 15%² of general purpose cardholders paid only the minimum, the highest share since at least 2015.²

A growing share never gets ahead of the balance. Persistent debt, when a year's interest and fees exceed the principal repaid, covered 30.37%² of near-prime accounts in 2024, up 6.98 points³ from 2015.

Introductory rates soften the first years for some borrowers, but less often below prime. Among cards opened from 2015 to 2021, only 34.90%² of general purpose cards opened by below-prime consumers (under 660) came with a promotional APR, against 59.99%² in the prime tier. For cards opened in the same years, those without a promotion charged $346.29² in interest on average over the first three years after opening for below-prime accounts and $450.52² for prime accounts.

The average value of travel points vs. cash back

Rewards are counted in dollars, not per point or per mile. In 2024, major issuers' general purpose cards earned $47.0 billion³ in rewards: $23.875 billion² in points and other rewards (50.8%³), $16.551 billion² in cash back (35.2%³) and $6.588 billion² in miles (14.0%³), at dollar values reported by the issuers. By number of accounts, cash back is the most common type: 36.39%² of general purpose accounts in 2024, up from 27.97%² in 2015, against 33.20%² for points, 10.13%² for miles and 20.28%² with no rewards.²

Miles, the classic travel reward, are the smallest group by accounts and by dollars earned.² Cash back cards are commonly offered to consumers with prime or better scores and usually come with no or low annual fees.² Average credit has moved onto rewards cards all the same. The share of near-prime card spending on rewards cards rose from 64.67%² in 2015 to 81.24%² in 2024, 16.57 points³ higher, and even deep subprime reached 72.52%².

Per dollar, average credit earns more. In the fourth quarter of 2024, near-prime rewards cards returned 1.94%² of spending in rewards, against 1.42%² for superprime: $19.40³ on $1,000 of spending versus $14.20³.

Balances tell the other half. The average near-prime rewards account held $69.91² of unredeemed rewards at the end of 2024, 43.5%³ more than at the end of 2019, against $257.47² for superprime, 3.68³ times as much.

Rewards can also be lost. In the fourth quarter of 2024, 7.10%² of subprime and deep subprime rewards accounts forfeited rewards, 3.43³ times the near-prime rate of 2.07%² and 2.53³ times the overall rate. Since the end of 2021, forfeiture among subprime cardholders has risen to more than double the overall rate.²

Sign-up bonuses differ less across tiers than credit lines do. Near-prime cardholders who earned a bonus in 2024 got $225.18² on average, $138.33³ less than the superprime $363.51², and subprime and deep subprime cardholders got $234.16².

What decides the best travel credit card for average credit

No statistic names a winner, but the numbers above are the ones any card for average credit is judged on: the purchase APR, the annual fee, the reward rate and the chance of keeping the rewards. One large issuer's current lineup shows how those terms change with the credit level the issuer names. Its travel rewards line is labeled for excellent to good credit; of the five cards in the table, the two it labels for fair credit are a cash back card and a credit-building card.^{4 8 11}

The trade-offs are visible in the terms. The good-credit version of the VentureOne miles card charges a 28.99%¹² variable APR and no annual fee, and it excludes the new-cardmember bonus miles and the 0% introductory APR. The standard version starts at 0% for 15 months, then charges 18.49%⁴ to 28.49%⁴, 0.50 points³ below the good-credit rate at the top of its range. The fair-credit QuicksilverOne pays 1.5%⁸ cash back on every purchase and charges a $39⁸ annual fee, which takes $2,600³ of spending to earn back.

None of the five cards charges a foreign transaction fee.^{4 12 13 8 11}

Set against the tier averages, those terms sit close to the market. A 28.99%¹² rate is just inside the 28.73%² to 30.00%² range that new cards carried below a score of 720 in 2024, and a $39 fee is under half the $84.21² near-prime average where a fee is charged. Beyond one issuer's terms, cardholders' own spending shows how much of it goes to travel.

How much card spending goes to travel

Travel is a big-ticket category. On major issuers' cards in 2024, airlines took $135.0 billion², hotels and lodging $142.4 billion² and transport and travel services $238.4 billion², together $515.8 billion³ or 14.1%³ of the $3,647.9 billion³ of card spending in the data.

By count, travel is small. Airlines, hotels and transport and travel services made up 6.96%³ of card transactions for consumers with scores below 720 and 6.87%³ for those at 720 and above, so average and top-tier cardholders put about the same share of their purchases on travel.²

Travel's share of card spending has not fully returned to 2019. Airlines took 3.64%² of card spending in the fourth quarter of 2019 and hotels and lodging 4.27%²; airlines fell to 0.22%² in the second quarter of 2020. In the fourth quarter of 2024 the shares were 3.25%² and 3.51%².

Card delinquency by state

Average credit scores and card APRs are not published by state, so the map shows a related measure of card stress: the share of card balances at least 90 days delinquent.¹⁴ At the end of 2025 it ranged from 16.28%¹⁴ in Nevada to 8.03%¹⁴ in Wisconsin, a gap of 8.25 points³, and nationally it was 12.36%¹⁴.

Every state's share was higher at the end of 2025 than at the end of 2019.¹⁴ Eight of the ten highest shares were in the South, from Florida at 14.94%¹⁴ to South Carolina at 13.36%¹⁴, while the ten lowest were in the Midwest and the West, except Vermont at 8.99%¹⁴.

Nationally, the share was the highest since 2010.¹⁴ It stood at 12.36%¹⁴ in the fourth quarter of 2025, 4.24 points³ above 2019, and below its series high of 13.31%¹⁴ in 2010.

A straight line through 2003-2025 is almost flat and reaches about 8.5%³ by 2050, while a fit over 2013-2025 alone climbs to about 16.9%³. Both are our calculations, not forecasts, and the gap between them shows how much the answer depends on where the line starts.

What the numbers mean for a card at average credit

Put together, a cardholder with average or fair credit faces five numbers:

• Approval: about three in ten near-prime applications for a general purpose card were approved in 2024 (31.46%²), against 59.84%² for store cards.
• Price: a new card at scores of 620 to 719 carried 28.73%² to 29.85%² in 2024, and the prime rate that moves variable APRs has been 7.00%¹⁰ since September 17, 2026.
• Credit line: $3,309² on average for near-prime cardholders, and new cards under 660 started at a median of $500⁷ in early 2026.
• Fee: most near-prime accounts pay none, since only 13.88%² are charged one, but those that are pay $84.21² on average.
• Rewards: 1.94%² earned per dollar at near-prime, while 7.10%² of rewards accounts below a score of 620 forfeited rewards in a single quarter.

Conclusions

1. Average credit buys access, not a discount. The band that holds the 714 average paid 28.73% on new cards in 2024, only 2.90 points less than scores of 760 and above but 8.71 points more than the same band paid in 2014, and most of the 2022-2024 rise came with the prime rate.²
2. The real cliff is between prime and near-prime. Approval falls from 56.51% to 31.46% and the average credit line from $5,795 to $3,309, while the new-card APR changes by less than one point from one score band to the next below 760.²
3. Rewards at average credit are generous per dollar and fragile in practice. Near-prime cards earned 1.94% against 1.42% at the top, yet the average near-prime rewards balance was $69.91, and 7.10% of subprime and deep subprime rewards accounts forfeited rewards in a single quarter.²
4. Fees moved the other way from rates. Only 13.88% of near-prime accounts were charged an annual fee in 2024, against 27.08% in 2015, but the average fee where charged rose to $84.21; at 1.5% cash back, a $39 fee takes $2,600 of spending to earn back.^{2 8}
5. Travel is a large share of card dollars but not of card swipes. Airlines, hotels and travel services took 14.1% of 2024 card spending in the data but under 7% of transactions, and those purchases carry the same purchase APR as groceries.^{2 8}