The claim
Under Regulation Z (12 CFR § 1026.55(a)), except as provided in paragraph (b), a card issuer must not increase an annual percentage rate, or a fee or charge required to be disclosed under § 1026.6(b)(2)(ii), (b)(2)(iii), or (b)(2)(xii), on a credit card account under an open-end (not home-secured) consumer credit plan. Paragraph (b) lists exceptions, each with its own conditions. Under the advance notice exception, for example, the increased rate must not be applied to transactions that occurred before the notice, or, for notices under § 1026.9(c) or (g), within 14 days after it.
The receipt
(a) General rule. Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, a card issuer must not increase an annual percentage rate or a fee or charge required to be disclosed under § 1026.6(b)(2)(ii), (b)(2)(iii), or (b)(2)(xii) on a credit card account under an open-end (not home-secured) consumer credit plan.
(2) Variable rate exception. A card issuer may increase an annual percentage rate when:
(i) The annual percentage rate varies according to an index that is not under the card issuer's control and is available to the general public; and
(ii) The increase in the annual percentage rate is due to an increase in the index.
(3) Advance notice exception. A card issuer may increase an annual percentage rate or a fee or charge required to be disclosed under § 1026.6(b)(2)(ii), (b)(2)(iii), or (b)(2)(xii) after complying with the applicable notice requirements in § 1026.9(b), (c), or (g), provided that:
(i) If a card issuer discloses an increased annual percentage rate, fee, or charge pursuant to § 1026.9(b), the card issuer must not apply that rate, fee, or charge to transactions that occurred prior to provision of the notice;
(ii) If a card issuer discloses an increased annual percentage rate, fee, or charge pursuant to § 1026.9(c) or (g), the card issuer must not apply that rate, fee, or charge to transactions that occurred prior to or within 14 days after provision of the notice; and
(iii) This exception does not permit a card issuer to increase an annual percentage rate or a fee or charge required to be disclosed under § 1026.6(b)(2)(ii), (iii), or (xii) during the first year after the account is opened, while the account is closed, or while the card issuer does not permit the consumer to use the account for new transactions. For purposes of this paragraph, an account is considered open no earlier than the date on which the account may first be used by the consumer to engage in transactions.
(4) Delinquency exception. A card issuer may increase an annual percentage rate or a fee or charge required to be disclosed under § 1026.6(b)(2)(ii), (b)(2)(iii), or (b)(2)(xii) due to the card issuer not receiving the consumer's required minimum periodic payment within 60 days after the due date for that payment, provided that:
(i) The card issuer must disclose in a clear and conspicuous manner in the notice of the increase pursuant to § 1026.9(c) or (g):
(A) A statement of the reason for the increase; and
(B) That the increased annual percentage rate, fee, or charge will cease to apply if the card issuer receives six consecutive required minimum periodic payments on or before the payment due date beginning with the first payment due following the effective date of the increase; and
(ii) If the card issuer receives six consecutive required minimum periodic payments on or before the payment due date beginning with the first payment due following the effective date of the increase, the card issuer must reduce any annual percentage rate, fee, or charge increased pursuant to this exception to the annual percentage rate, fee, or charge that applied prior to the increase with respect to transactions that occurred prior to or within 14 days after provision of the § 1026.9(c) or (g) notice.
Card companies are generally restricted from raising the interest rate for your existing balance, but there are certain exceptions.
What the rule doesn't say
Paragraph (b) names seven exceptions, headed “Temporary rate, fee, or charge exception”, “Variable rate exception”, “Advance notice exception”, “Delinquency exception”, “Workout and temporary hardship arrangement exception”, “Servicemembers Civil Relief Act exception”, and “Index replacement and margin change exception”. This page quotes three of them (variable rate, advance notice, delinquency); each of the others has its own conditions. So the rule does not say that an account's rate can never rise; it says an increase must fit an exception. The advance notice and delinquency exceptions refer to notices under § 1026.9, which this page does not quote. In the delinquency exception, the increase is tied to the issuer “not receiving the consumer's required minimum periodic payment within 60 days after the due date”, and the reduction after six consecutive on-time minimum payments is stated “with respect to transactions that occurred prior to or within 14 days after provision of the § 1026.9(c) or (g) notice.” The rule applies to credit card accounts under open-end (not home-secured) consumer credit plans.
What you can do
Whether an exception applies depends on facts the rule names: the kind of rate change (for example, a temporary rate ending or an index-linked variable rate), the date of any notice, when each transaction occurred, and, for the delinquency exception, how late the required minimum payment was. The CFPB's Ask CFPB page, linked below, lists these circumstances in plain language.
Sources: 12 CFR § 1026.55 (Regulation Z), eCFR · CFPB, Regulation Z § 1026.55 · CFPB, Ask CFPB: When can my credit card company increase my interest rate?
Sources last checked: October 8, 2026.
Everything here is consumer information — not financial or legal advice. It covers what a rule says and where to find it; the decisions stay yours.