Average credit card balances jump 10% to a record $6,360, and more consumers fall behind on payments
Average credit card balances jump 10% to a record $6,360, and more consumers fall behind on payments
Americans are increasingly leaning on credit to make ends meet, boosting balances and total debt to fresh highs.
Americans now owe $1.13 trillion in credit card debt
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Per card? Or total across multiple cards?
I had a $6,000 bill on one card, paid in full last month, but it was one of those one year 0% interest checks that I had used to pay off a large electrical project.
The rest of my cards have negligible debt. I try to pay off everything every pay day, but I recognize not everyone can do that.
Do you recommend any particular card for 0%? Looking to do a balance transfer.
Discover is the best one I've ever had. No annual fee, started out with 0% interest for 18 months. I constantly get 0% balance transfer offers for 12 months, sure it costs a 3% one time fee, but it sure saves money on interest. Plus, their customer service and fraud dispute are the best imo.
It used to be 3% transfer fee, but now it's 4%, at least for me. I found that the 0% transfer fee with 5.99% APR was cheaper over 12 months when paying it down... especially when paying more in the earlier months.
I used Discover for a balance transfer. However, be sure you do the math. They have options like 0% interest rate with a 4% transfer fee to pay it off in 12 months. I chose instead 0% transfer fee with 5.99% APR over 15 months, but still plan to pay it off in 12 months.
The 4% transfer fee is on the entire balance as soon as you move it over... while the 5.99% interest is on your balance divided by 12 each month... which can get less and less each month depending on how much you pay off.
So for example... $5000 with 0% interest has a 4% transfer fee of $200. But $5000 with no transfer fee has 5.99% interest of around $25 for the first month, and less interest each month if you are paying chunks of your balance down every month. If you are not paying big chunks then the 0% interest with 4% transfer fee may be better.
It really depends on whether or not you plan on paying it off... and how fast you intend to do it. My previous interest was rising to 13% on one card, 19% on another... so 5.99% is much better for me.
Nerdwallet keeps track of whats currently available
Largely depends on the bank, I have 5 different cards that offer 0% balance transfers from time to time.
3 of them are with US Bank, but that might be because I've had accounts with them for 30 years. Another with Chase, another with Barclays.
I assume it's total outstanding debt divided by credit card holder. Kids, never carry a balance on your CC. Do not accept 20% as a reasonable loan. Spend against your budget, save up for big purchases and pay your CC bill in full!