What will happen to credit card rates following a December Fed rate cut?

Another Fed rate cut could help ease costs for certain borrowers, but it may not have the same impact on your credit card debt. Pla2na/Getty Images

The Federal Reserve is widely expected to announce another interest rate cut this week, continuing its pivot away from the aggressive rate hikes that defined much of 2022 and 2023. And with millions of Americans carrying credit card debt — and cardholders owing a record $1.23 trillion collectively — there's an understandable hope that this latest cut could finally offer some breathing room to borrowers who are facing high monthly card payments.

After all, when the Fed raises rates, credit card APRs tend to follow that same trajectory shortly after. That's part of the reason why the average credit card interest rate now hovers abov