Is it better to have a credit card with a fixed rate or variable rate?

Is it better to have a credit card with a fixed rate or variable rate?

Janet Bodnar (Deputy Editor, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance) gives expert video advice on: Should I take advantage of low rate offers and transfer my balances?; How many credit cards should I have? and more...

I think it's better to have a credit card with a fixed rate. Now, a fixed rate of interest means that you're always going to be charged the same rate of interest on your credit card. It might be 12%, 13%, 14%, but you always know what you're going to be charged. With a variable rate of interest, that rate might start off being lower, but it could go higher because it's tied to a specific benchmark. If that benchmark goes up, then the variable interest rate goes up as well. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but it doesn't make people feel as secure as a fixed rate does. So if you can get a reasonable fixed rate, I would go with that rather than a variable rate.