At a time of record low interest rates, credit card rates are bucking the trend. The average interest rate on credit cards rose to 14.7 percent last quarter, up from 13.1 percent a year ago, according to Synovate. That has widened the spread between the average credit card interest rate and the prime rate to 11.45 percentage points, the largest in 22 years.

Synovate says the increase in interest rates was driven primarily by the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009, which gave credit card companies a limited amount of time to raise rates, "before they could no longer do so freely." The default rate is also going up, which may be boosting rates as institutions get nervous.

Still, credit card spending, due mainly to the recession, stormed to the second highest level of spending ever in the second quarter. And that has the industry in a near-frenzy. Companies are marketing like mad to good credit risks. U.S. households received 640.3 million credit card offers in the second quarter, up 83 percent from a year ago, notes CNNmoney.

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