Recently, President Trump called for a year-long credit card interest rate cap of 10% starting on Jan. 20, 2026. While this deadline has passed, he reiterated this request and urged Congress to act during his Jan. 21 speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
One concern is that a 10% cap on credit card interest rates could make it harder for those with lower credit scores to access credit. It could also lead to a cut in credit card rewards. However, consumers could save billions of dollars a year, according to a September 2025 study published by Vanderbilt University’s Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator.
Since the announcement, there has been little change in credit card interest rates aside from Bilt announcing a 10% intro APR for up to 12 payment periods (26.74% to 34.74% variable APR after) for its three new cards launching to the public in February.
Regardless of what happens to credit card interest rates, you can take matters into your own hands by focusing on what you can control, such as your credit score. Improving your credit score is a long-term commitment, but it has several significant benefits.
Why raising your credit score is important
Better approval odds and more flexibility
When you’re applying for anything from a credit card to a mortgage loan, a higher credit score can dramatically increase your approval odds.
Credit scores are designed to show lenders the likelihood that you will repay your debt, so it makes sense that a high credit score makes it easier to take out a loan or get approved for new credit.
With a better credit score, you also have more financial products to choose from. If you have no credit history or a low credit score, your credit card options are likely limited to secured credit cards, which require an upfront deposit, or similar products. These cards can help build credit, but typically have far fewer benefits and higher interest rates.
Lower rates
Low credit scores indicate a higher risk of default, and lenders charge premium interest rates to account for these extra losses.
Perhaps the biggest benefit of a high credit score is that you’ll have access to lower interest rates right now, regardless of what happens with the proposed credit card interest cap. Credit card APRs are typically variable and determined based on the cardholder’s creditworthiness, and there are low-interest credit cards. For example, the Platinum Mastercard® from First Tech Federal Credit Union offers a variable APR as low as 10.49% to 18.00%.
Platinum Mastercard® from First Tech Federal Credit Union
Information has been collected independently by CNBC Select Information about the Platinum Mastercard® has been collected independently by CNBC Select and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of the card prior to publication.
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Rewards
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Welcome bonus
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Annual fee
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Intro APR
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Regular APR
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Balance transfer fee
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Foreign transaction fee
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Credit needed
Pros
- No annual fee
- Low APR
- No balance transfer or foreign transaction fees
Cons
- No rewards
- No welcome bonus
Even without a 10% interest rate cap in place, many credit cards offer something even better — 0% introductory APRs for more than a year. The caveat of these offers is that you typically need good to excellent credit to get approved. And if you transfer a balance, there are fees to consider, so these offers aren’t a solution for everyone.
How quickly can you improve your credit score?
Unfortunately, there is no quick fix for a bad credit score.
The FICO Score is one of the most popular credit scoring models, and the biggest factors in determining your FICO Score are your payment history (35%) and the amount you owe (30%). So if you want excellent credit, you should focus on consistently paying all of your bills on time and paying off your debt.
There are tools that can provide a quick boost to your credit score, but the impact is limited, and they aren’t relevant for every type of credit application. Experian Boost®* and eCredable Lift can improve your credit score by adding information for bill payments such as utilities, phone services and more.
However, each of these services only adds payment history to one of the three major personal credit reports (Experian Boost impacts your Experian report and eCredable Lift impacts TransUnion), and some lenders don’t consider these additions when evaluating your credit.
Experian Boost®
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Cost
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Average credit score increase
13 points, though results vary
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Credit report affected
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Credit scoring model used
Results will vary. See website for details.
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*Results may vary. Some may not see improved scores or approval odds. Not all lenders use Experian credit files, and not all lenders use scores impacted by Experian Boost.
Editorial Note: Opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Select editorial staff’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any third party.
