High Interest Rates Getting Your Blood Pressure Up? Over the last couple of years, Congress has been looking into common procedures employed by credit card companies in areas such as high interest rates, fees, grace periods, over the limit charges, and disclosure practices, and how these issues are impacting millions of Americans. Even if you make payments every month, it may seem like you never make a substantial dent in the balance because of high interest charges t added to your account every month. Many consumers are simply overburdened and overwhelmed by high interest rates. We're talking 19.8% to 30% and higher!