Credit card debt is often the most costly type of debt Americans can take on, largely due to the incredibly high interest rates many cards carry. On top of credit card debt being at a record high, the Federal Reserve’s January G.19 report found the average rate for credit cards that assessed interest was 22.30% in November 2025.
This interest rate, applied to $20,000 in credit card debt that compounds daily, will cost you an additional $4,994 over the course of a single year. If you extend that to three years, you’ll pay almost your entire principal balance in interest alone, or $19,037. This math doesn’t account for any potential payments, but it goes to show just how quickly credit card debt can get out of hand.
Credit card debt can be…