I opened two recent accounts, one with Discover and another with BoA.
At the time of the application, the companies explained that based on my creditworthiness I will end up with a purchase APR between 11.99% and 19.99%. My score was EQ 764 when I applied for the cards, and for both cards I got the highest APR of 19.99%
I am wondering a.) what your credit profile has to look like to get the lowest APR at the time of application
b.) if these APRs will ever go down as I continue to build history with them
c.) if this "between X and Y" phrase is just there for show and if in fact most people get the highest APR when they apply.
My credit file at the time of application looked as follows:
available credit $20,000, two revolving accounts, utilization: 4%, AAoA: 4 years, oldest account 6 years
Thankfully, I have always paid in full, so I am not worried at this point. It doesn't matter to me whether the APR is 10% or 30%. Also, these are rewards cards, and they're not known for having good APRs anyway. However, it would be nice to have a lower APR just in case.
Ironically, my lowest APR is my Amex CC with 13.25% APR. I have had a PNC CC for many years and the APR has always remained at 18.99%. My gripe is that once you have received a high APR, the banks won't change it even if in the meantime your "creditworthiness" improves over the years.They just leave it at where it is. Or am I wrong? Do I have to wait another 6 years to see my APR at PNC decreased from 18.99% to 17.99%? 
Hi wolle,
Hard to tell what their internal specs are. 
FWIW, DH has a BofA PowerRewards Visa - it's one year old and he came out of the app with a 12.24% which was on the low end of their range (at the time they offered 12.24%, 16.24% or 20.24%). His EQ was 765 at the time of app. He has low utilization, an AAofA similar to yours, but his oldest account is 20 years.
Their decision making criteria is frustratingly invisible to the consumer, and basically we're often a little dumbfounded at what the outcome is.
Luckily, you always PIF so your APR is somewhat inconsequential.
And, some folks, with some cards, have had good results when making calls to get their APR lowered. Can't recall which - perhaps some experienced folks will chime in.
This just reminds me of how helpful these FICO forums are. It wasn't that long ago that folks couldn't understand what was affecting their FICO scores - much the same feeling that you currently have with not knowing what's affecting the APR you're receiving. Makes me thankful that in FICOland, we understand much more about what goes into making a great FICO score - thanks Barry and everyone for helping us better understand at least the FICO part of our financial worlds.
Wish that we could understand this part of the CC universe a bit better.
And congrats again, wollepopolle, on being a PIF'er. Makes the APR thingy not quite so frustrating - or at least not quite so damaging.
