Americans took on an additional $74 billion in credit card debt last year, according to a new analysis from the personal finance company WalletHub.
The good news is that’s actually a smaller increase than we saw in 2023. The bad news? Credit card defaults are way up.
A household is considered in default on a credit card when they’re over 180 days late on minimum payment. That’s when collections typically kick in.
And in 2024, Americans defaulted on $59 billion in credit card debt — a 34% jump from 2023.
“Inflation is a huge factor,” said Chip Lupo, an analyst with WalletHub. “Because the cost of everything has gotten so high, more and more people are turning to credit cards for their everyday expenses.”
Higher interest rates are also making things worse. Partly because of the Fed’s rate hikes, Lupo said that credit card APRs are averaging around 22% to 23% right now, which is higher than normal.
“You wind up paying more in interest than your actual balance,” Lupo said.
High credit card balances are taking their toll on one demographic group in particular: older adults.
“Nearly half of adults over the age of 50 with credit card debt are lacking the money to cover basic expenses,” said Indira Venkat, senior vice president of research at AARP.
An AARP survey also found that more than half of seniors over 75 are carrying credit card debt.
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