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What the Fed Rate Cut Means for Credit Cards

By U.S. News & World Report

The Federal Reserve has cut rates for the third and final time this year. At its Dec. 10 meeting, the Fed reduced rates by 0.25 of a percentage point, making the new federal funds rate 3.5% to 3.75%.

This move doesn’t come as a surprise to a lot of economists, with many predicting the Fed was going to cut rates as a way to stimulate economic activity. When it’s cheaper for businesses and consumers to borrow money, it can increase demand for goods and services. This, in turn, can promote hiring.

What does this mean for you and your credit card debt? Here’s what you need to know.

[Read: Best Credit Cards.]

What Credit Card Consumers Can Expect

If you’ve been keeping an eye on your interest rates this year, you may have noticed a dip in your annual percentage rate due to the collective effect of the consecutive Fed cuts, especially if you compare the rates to last year.

With this most recent cut, you might see a minimal change to your interest rate as soon as the next billing cycle. Still, the reductions could mean some savings over time, depending on how much of a balance you carry.

Consumers should keep an eye on 2026 Fed meetings for possible rate cuts. If interest rates continue to drop, consumers will feel the impact in small waves. In the meantime, you should just keep paying your credit card as usual.

[Read: Low Interest Credit Cards]

What to Do Next

Regardless of any anticipated rate cuts, you should continue to pay (and prioritize) your high-interest credit card debt. There are several tried and true methods you can employ to help eliminate your debt:

— Apply for a balance transfer credit card. If you’re carrying a high balance on a credit card, a balance transfer credit card is a good option. You can cut into your debt while making payments during a card’s 0% introductory APR period, which can last from 12 to 21 months.

— Apply for a debt consolidation loan. You can combine multiple balances into one installment loan. The APRs may be lower on debt consolidation loans than the APRs on your credit cards.

— Use the debt avalanche method. With this method, you pay off your credit card balances from the highest APR to the lowest. The only drawback, though, is if you have a high balance, it could take a long time to pay off that first credit card.

— Use the debt snowball method. With the debt snowball method, you pay off your credit card debts in order from smallest to largest.

While rates might continue to decrease in 2026, don’t put all of your eggs in this one basket. As of now, Fed officials only anticipate one rate cut next year. Also, these rate cuts are small; if you’re hoping they will significantly ease the burden of your credit card debt, you might be hoping for a while.

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What the Fed Rate Cut Means for Credit Cards originally appeared on usnews.com

Update 12/10/25: This story was previously published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.

As Chicago rethinks its monuments, an artist surrounds George Washington with ‘Other Washingtons’

By CNN
Chicago (CNN) — In Chicago, a lone statue of George Washington is now surrounded by “Other Washingtons,” which take the form of blue flags bearing the faces of Black Americans who bear the same last name. They include a range of notable figures and local heroes, such as the inventor George Washington Carver, Academy Award-winner Denzel Washington, architect Roberta Washington, and South Side school band leader Benjamin Washington.Who is worthy of a monument? That question circulated across the United States six years ago as the country reckoned with racial injustice in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd, including who is represented by, or excluded from, our public symbols. Statues of controversial figures were vandalized and taken down, with more than 160 Confederate works removed from public spaces in 2020.Chicago has offered its own answer: to commission new monuments or respond to existing ones, based on internal research that found the city had gaps in representation of gender and race. This year, its Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) is unveiling a spate of new artist commissions, called the Chicago Monuments Project.“Other Washingtons,” which opened on Thursday in Washington Park, on the city’s South Side, was conceptualized by artist and architect Amanda Williams and is the second so far to be completed. It asks community members to think of the Washingtons that matter to them, with flags and accompanying banners telling their stories and that will rotate out annually for three years.The project is meant to represent “a living archive,” said Kenya K. Merritt, a commissioner from DCASE, in a statement. It “can continue to grow, reflect community memory, and make space for stories that are less widely known.”The design is modeled after the flags that surround the Washington Monument in the nation’s capital, and the colors Williams chose — blue, cream, chocolate and salmon — reference a color palette developed by George Washington Carver, that the artist has explored as part of a larger body of work on the scientist.Depicting Washington on horseback during the Revolutionary War, the original monument has been there since 1904, and is actually a replica of one gifted to France. For a long time, the statue was fenced in after it was vandalized in June 2020. Monuments to Washington and other Founding Fathers were targeted by anti-racist protestors. Washington himself had hundreds of slaves at his home and plantation in Virginia. With the statue in Chicago located in a predominately Black neighborhood, Williams believes it doesn’t fully represent the community in which it resides.“How do you make the site relevant again?” That was the question on her mind when she received the commission, she explained in an interview at the opening event. “What does it mean to not touch him, but to make something that will maybe obscure him?”A monument to manyWilliams’ idea began to take shape with census research, finding that Washington has long been one of the top surnames almost entirely associated with Black Americans. In the 2000s, it reached the top spot, with around 90% of Washingtons identifying as African American. (In the 2020 census, the surname was outranked only by Pierre, though Washington is a much more common name.)It became clear to her then that she could monumentalize many Washingtons who might be more meaningful to passersby, from musicians and athletes to politicians and local heroes. In collaboration with the educator and nearby Englewood resident Candice Washington, who is curating the project, they launched a website to ask for collective input.“It allows the community to really take ownership,” Williams said. “They need to know these are their stories.”“Other Washingtons” is one of eight commissions planned across the city as part of the Chicago Monuments Project, which has received $6.8 million from the Mellon Foundation. Last month, markers around the city were completed to commemorate the victims of the Chicago Race Riot of 1919. Other commissions include a monument to honor Native voices, a sculpture of gospel singer and Civil Rights activist Mahalia Jackson, and a site to recognize the survivors who were tortured by the Chicago Police Department during the 1970s-1990s.But the initiative is bearing the fruits of its labor during President Trump’s second term, when the federal government, in contrast, has doubled down on honoring figures traditionally exalted in US history and is funding such monuments at a breakneck pace. The White House has announced a location for its long-planned National Garden of American Heroes, added sculptures of the Founding Fathers to a newly paved Rose Garden, regilded existing mythological statues by Leo Friedlander, and is pursuing a 250-foot-tall triumphal arch that would dwarf the Lincoln Memorial.Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson, who spoke at the opening of “Other Washingtons,” hopes that the city can set an example through the Chicago Monuments Project.“Through this initiative, Chicago sets a national model for how cities can invest in public art to preserve history, strengthen communities, and inspire real dialogue,” said Mayor Brandon Johnson in his public remarks. “‘Other Washingtons’ expands our understanding of our history and honors the many Washingtons who contribute and have shaped this city, and that will continue to inspire future generations.”At the event, some of those honored and their families were present. The local band leader Benjamin Washington was there, who Williams had not yet met. She ran up to introduce herself and shake his hand before speaking at the podium. After the remarks, different Washingtons smiled and took photos beneath their banners, wearing stickers that said “I’m a Washington.”“My name is Sonya Washington,” one woman said, pointing up to a banner as she introduced herself. “You can find me up there.”The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
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