Although Americans are racking up more credit card debt, there are signs households are managing their debt better than they had been before.

Collectively, Americans now owe a record $1.21 trillion on their credit cards, according to a new quarterly report on household debt from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Credit card balances jumped by $45 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024, driven in part by holiday spending, and are now 7.3% higher than a year ago.

Credit cards can be a convenient way of acquiring money, with the possibility of paying for things in a while. This instrument of payment comes in handy when one is short of cash. But if used in a careless manner,

Credit card debt is weighing on many Americans. The share of credit card holders making just the minimum monthly payment is at a 12-year high, a report shows.

Americans Struggle With Record Credit Card Debt U.S. credit card debt reached a record $1.17 trillion in the third quarter of 2024, growing from $770 billion in the first quarter of 2021 and the share of active credit card holders making just minimum payments rose to 10.75%, the highest percentage ever in data going back to 2012. [ The Guardian]

Americans' credit card debt set a new record of $1.2 trillion in the last quarter of 2024, while overall household debt reached a new high of about $18 trillion, the New York Fed found.

Following the trend of the last several months, Americans’ household debt has increased once again to new record highs, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.