The reason for the higher interest rate is due to loss and fraud costs. Traditional loans (car, house, HELOC, etc...) can have much lower rates because if ther

The reason for the higher interest rate is due to loss and fraud costs. Traditional loans (car, house, HELOC, etc...) can have much lower rates because if there are assets that are put up as collateral (the car, house) that can be repossessed and re-sold by the bank; while in the case of most credit card purchases there is no recourse for the issuing bank to recover the money that owed to the merchant bank. As long as you live within your means (i.e. pay your balance off every month) a credit card can a convenient payment mechanism