--- title: A Growing Share of Americans Are Struggling to Pay Their Credit Card Bills description: With more credit cardholders than ever falling behind on payments, delinquencies are painting a stark portrait of consumer distress. authors: - name: Liliana Hall role: Reporter url: https://money.com/author/liliana-hall/ bio: Liliana Hall joined Money in 2025. She is an Austin-based reporter for Money, where she covers a range of topics, including financial news, policy, banking, investing, passive income, financial planning and student loan debt. education: University of Texas at Austin at_money_since: 2025 articles: 132 covers: - Credit Cards - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes social: - https://x.com/lilihallllllll - https://www.linkedin.com/in/liliana-hall/ editors: - name: Julia Glum role: Managing Editor url: https://money.com/author/julia-glum/ bio: Julia Glum joined Money in 2018 and specializes in covering financial trends that affect everyday Americans' wallets. She also writes Dollar Scholar, a weekly newsletter that teaches young adults how to navigate the messy world of money. education: University of Florida at_money_since: 2018 articles: 453 covers: - Credit Cards - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology also_seen_in: - Newsweek - International Business Times - CBS News - Good Morning America - WUSA9 - Pix 11 - The New York Times - Mashable - The Washington Post - CNBC - Politico social: - https://x.com/superjulia - https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-glum published: '2025-04-22T14:19:26.000Z' modified: '2025-12-10T18:36:56.000Z' section: Credit Cards tags: - News word_count: 588 canonical: https://money.com/americans-credit-card-bills-struggle/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Woman with worried expression, holding a smartphone and a credit card](https://img.money.com/2025/04/News-Struggle-Credit-Card-Payments.jpg) More Americans with credit cards are falling behind on their bills than at any point in the last decade, with the percentage of cardholders making only the minimum payment climbing to a 12-year high. According to a [report](https://www.philadelphiafed.org/surveys-and-data/2024-q4-large-bank) released April 9 by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, 11.12% of U.S. cardholders paid only the minimum in the fourth quarter of 2024, covering October, November and December, up from 10.75% in the [third quarter](https://www.philadelphiafed.org/surveys-and-data/2024-q3-large-bank) (July, August and September). The latest figure is more than double the delinquency rate recorded at its pandemic-era low in 2021. The report also found that roughly 0.9% of credit card accounts were delinquent, meaning at least 90 days past due. While a single missed payment can often be straightened out with a quick call to your issuer, rising delinquency rates underscore mounting financial pressure on consumers. ## Debt holding you back? ### If you owe over $20,000, learn how Freedom Debt Relief can help you reduce or eliminate it. Select your state and act now! [Visit Site](https://money.com/pr/p968da151c7a?ap_referrer=%2Famericans-credit-card-bills-struggle%2F) [Americans’ total credit card balance](https://www.newyorkfed.org/medialibrary/interactives/householdcredit/data/pdf/HHDC_2024Q4) hit a record $1.21 trillion at the end of last year — the highest since the New York Fed started tracking in 1999 — highlighting the mounting financial strain on folks as they grapple with elevated prices for everyday goods and services and steep credit card interest rates that make borrowing more expensive. This escalating debt burden is a sign of deeper consumer stress, according to the report. With the average credit card interest rate exceeding 20%, even modest balances can quickly snowball, leading to a cycle of debt that can be difficult to break. ## What to do if you can’t afford your credit card bill It’s never a good idea to miss a credit card payment. Allowing your credit card bills to go unpaid can have costly consequences, such as high late fees and negative effects on your [credit score](https://money.com/how-are-credit-scores-calculated/). Before panic ensues, it’s important to make a plan. You may want to start by adjusting your monthly budget and devising a way to pay off accounts that have the highest interest rate. If you run into a situation where you can’t afford your credit card payment, call your credit card issuer immediately. Depending on your situation, there might be options to delay your payment or even reduce your interest rate. (There’s no written rule anywhere that can guarantee this. However, it doesn’t hurt to ask.) If your credit is good but your credit card balance has caught up to you, you might want to consider a debt repayment tool like a balance transfer credit card or [debt consolidation loan](https://money.com/best-debt-consolidation-loans/). Balance transfer cards allow you to move debt from multiple accounts to another with a lower annual percentage rate. The [best balance transfer cards](https://money.com/best-balance-transfer-credit-cards/) offer [0% annual percentage rates, or APRs](https://money.com/best-0-intro-apr-credit-cards/), for as long as 21 months. However, keep in mind that the initial transfer will likely cost between 3% and 5% of the transferred balance. Though that’s much cheaper than letting your debt accrue high-interest charges, it’s wise to have a repayment plan during the initial introductory period to avoid paying your card’s regular APR. With a debt consolidation loan, you can consolidate high-interest credit card debt into one monthly payment with a fixed interest rate. This can help you save money in the long run if your new loan has a lower interest rate than your credit card. But keep an eye on lenders' origination fees, because these can range from 1% to 10% of the financed amount. ## Struggling with debt? Get relief today! ### If you owe over $20,000, Freedom Debt Relief can help reduce your burden. Start your journey by clicking below! [Visit Site](https://money.com/pr/o8c065d70a1a?ap_referrer=%2Famericans-credit-card-bills-struggle%2F) ![](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/25289/medium_2e7b27ce-b30d-40a3-beef-0139ecba6b47.png) If you owe over $20,000 or more, Freedom Debt Relief can help you get back on your feet! [Get Started](https://money.com/pr/u5c2defb44d4?ap_referrer=%2Famericans-credit-card-bills-struggle%2F) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/americans-credit-card-bills-struggle/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Credit Cards", "item": "https://money.com/credit-cards/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "A Growing Share of Americans Are Struggling to Pay Their Credit Card Bills" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/americans-credit-card-bills-struggle/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/americans-credit-card-bills-struggle/", "name": "A Growing Share of Americans Are Struggling to Pay Their Credit Card Bills", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2025-04-22T14:19:26.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/americans-credit-card-bills-struggle/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/americans-credit-card-bills-struggle/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2025-12-10T18:36:56.000Z" }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "A Growing Share of Americans Are Struggling to Pay Their Credit Card Bills", "articleSection": "Credit Cards", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2025/04/News-Struggle-Credit-Card-Payments.jpg", "width": 1152, "height": 768, "caption": "News-Struggle-Credit-Card-Payments" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Liliana Hall", "url": "https://money.com/author/liliana-hall/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/liliana-hall/#author", "description": "Liliana Hall joined Money in 2025. 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