Credit Card Delinquencies Have Hit a Record High

The percentage of credit card accounts that were at least 90 days past due hit a 12-year high in the fourth quarter of 2024.

According to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, 0.90% of accounts were delinquent, the most since the Fed bank began its report. It’s only a slight increase from the 0.89% in the fourth quarter of 2023, but a larger spike from the 0.70% seen in 2022.

The report relies on information from large U.S. banks, foreign banks that do business in the U.S. and savings and loans with at least $100 billion in assets.

It also revealed that 11.12% of cardholders were making just the minimum payment, up from 10.65% in 2023 and 9.91% in 2022.

Americans are often behind on their bills in January and February, according to Bloomberg, after breaking the bank during the holiday season. There’s usually a rebound in March and April, though, as consumers use their tax refunds to pay down debts.

But these highs, coupled with collective credit card debt hitting a record $1.21 trillion, “indicate greater consumer stress,” according to the report. 

These are just the latest indicators that Americans are having trouble keeping up with their bills: Past-due federal student loan payments have hit a record 15.6% and late car payments have reached their highest rate in decades.

According to data from Fitch Ratings, 6.6% of subprime borrowers (those with credit scores below 620 ) were at least 60 days past due on their car loans in January 2025, the highest since the company began collecting the data in 1994.

The percentage of payments that were 90 days or more past due rose to 3%, the most since 2010.

Prime borrowers (those with credit scores of at least 640) fared somewhat better, with 0.39% of them 60 days behind on payments in January 2025, up from 0.35% in January 2024.

One of our top picks for balance transfer cards, the Wells Fargo Reflect® Card offers a 0% intro APR for 21 months from account opening on purchases and qualifying balance transfers (which come with a 5% fee). After that, it moves to a 17.24%, 23.74%, 28.99% or variable APR.

Using a 0% intro APR card is only a good strategy if you’re sure you’ll have the funds to pay off the balance by the time the grace period ends. Otherwise, you might be facing a higher rate than your previous card had.

2. Debt consolidation loan

A personal loan that consolidates and pays off your debts is another option. As a bonus, if you have lots of different creditors and due dates, it streamlines them into one monthly payout.

Achieve approves debt consolidation loans from applicants with FICO scores as low as 620. The online lender offers flexible terms and payment dates, rate discounts, and no prepayment penalty fee.

Capital One has a quick prequalification process for auto loan refinancing. You can get several loan offers and choose one that fits your goals best.

4. Debt relief service

If those options won’t work for you, look into debt relief companies. They negotiate with your creditors to lower your balances.

Most only work with borrowers with at least $7,500 in debt, however, and the fee for their services can range from 15% to 25% of your enrolled debt. Depending on how much you owe and how well they negotiate, that cost might be well worth it.

Freedom Debt Relief and Americor are two of CNBC Select’s top choices for debt relief companies, and both guarantee you won’t pay any fee unless it lowers your total enrolled debt.

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