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Spokesman Michelle Slade, said “We are seeing a lot of new credit card deals coming out, but while the interest-free periods may be longer, providers are increasing the interest rate borrowers revert to pay for it.”

Credit card rates remained at an average of 16.7pc which is the highest since February 2002. In July, the purchase rate of Barclaycard’s Gold and Platinum cards increased from 15.9pc to 16.9pc and has remained at that level though the Bank of England has announced that interest rates with stay at 0.5pc for the 19th month running.

Datamonitor, the financial information provider, said credit card companies are under pressure to boost margins as consumers use their services less. It suggested the market would fall 2.7pc this year and firms would need to make up losses.

The figures from the Bank of England do not bode well for savers as the return earned from a tax- free ISA dropped to 0.6pc from July’s 0.69pc.

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J.D. Power and Associates’ recent poll, 2010 U.S. Credit Card Satisfaction Study, a study of more than 8,500 credit card holders that measures customer satisfaction by examining six key factors (interaction, credit card terms, billing and payment processes, benefits and services, rewards, problem resolutions) shows that consumers are generally more satisfied with their credit card provider – up from a year ago. On a 1,000 point scale, overall credit card satisfaction is up by 9 points from 705 in 2009 to 714 in 2010, primarily driven by improvements with credit card terms and billing.

For the fourth consecutive year, American Express, with a score of 769 on a 1,000 point scale, took the lead in the satisfaction rating of consumers; Discover Card Inc. came in a close second with a score of 757. Lagging a bit behind was U.S. Bank with a score of 727. Th

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