Credit cards increasingly come with perks

Retailers may be doling out in-store discounts - but when it comes to credit cards, they're increasingly charging more.

Interest rates on store cards, which have been inching up for years, now average about 25 percent, according to data from CreditCards.com, part of an online credit card marketplace. And, for the first time, at least one retail card commands a rate above 30 percent.

A card offered by BrandSource, a network of locally owned appliance, electronics and home goods stores, comes with an interest rate of 30.49 percent. Three others - Big Lots, Piercing Pagoda and Zales - have rates of 29.99 percent.

'The long and short of it is, if you carry a balance, retail cards just aren't for you regardless of what discounts or rewards they may provide,” said Matt Schulz, an analyst for CreditCards.com. 'Thirty-percent interest rates are nothing to take lightly.”

Store cards have in recent years become a fixture of check-out counters, offering perks such as 20 percent off a first purchase, as well as in-store discounts, free shipping and cash back on future orders. Many also come with deferred interest plans that don't charge customers as long as they pay off their balance in full within a given period.

But after that, the cards often charge interest rates that are twice as high as those of regular credit cards, Schulz said. Some also retroactively collect interest on all past purchases, leaving consumer with much more debt than they'd anticipated.