YONKERS, NY. — A survey conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center, a research arm of the Consumer Reports magazine, has found that cardholders surveyed ranked credit unions as among the best credit card issuers.

The survey covered 36,298 reader's experiences with 61,944 cards. More CR readers who used those banks' cards complained that they were assessed unfair late fees or experienced unexpected interest-rate increases than readers who held cards from the top-rated issuers. It found that consumers had far fewer billing headaches and other problems with the card issuers at the top of the ratings, the magazine said.

The card issuers that scored especially high in the ratings–USAA Federal Savings (an association limited to members of the military, retired military personnel and their families), the Navy Federal Credit Union, and a group of other credit unions–also charged median interest rates between 9 and 11%, compared with the 17% imposed by the two issuers at the bottom of the ratings: Direct Merchants and Providian (now offered by Washington Mutual).