WalletHub releases new Credit Card Debt study

WalletHub’s new Credit Card Debt Study released its latest study looking at Credit Card debt, showing it is below the record high. The results of WalletHub’s new Fed Rate Survey, along with projections for how a September prime rate drop could affect our wallets, are listed here.

Credit Card Debt Study Key Findings

Q2 Results: At $28 billion, the increase in credit card debt during Q2 2025 was around 21% smaller than the increase in Q2 2024
Debt Is Well Below the Peak: Total credit card debt as of Q2 was roughly $1.32 trillion on an inflation-adjusted basis, which was about 13% below the record high.

Household Debt Has Some Breathing Room: The average household credit card balance was around $10,951 at the end of Q2 2025, after adjusting for inflation. That’s $2,062 below the record high
Early Q3 Returns: Preliminary data for July shows a 0.4% increase in credit card debt compared to the same month last year
Best Balance Transfer Credit Cards: The best balance transfer credit cards currently offer 0% APRs for up to 24 months, with no annual fees and low balance transfer fees.

See the complete findings of WalletHub’s Credit Card Debt Study.
Fed Rate Survey Key Findings

Inflation Remains a Top Concern: More than 9 in 10 people think inflation is still an issue
More of a Mandate to Fix Inflation: 7 in 10 people think inflation is a bigger issue than the job market right now
Growing Concern About the Economy: Nearly 3 in 5 people think the economy is getting worse rather than improving
Distrust in Government Data: Nearly 3 in 5 people say they don’t trust economic data from the government
Inflation Seen as a Bigger Threat Than AI: 77% of Americans are more worried about inflation stealing their money than AI stealing their job

Projected Impact of a Fed Rate Cut

Consumer Savings: Credit card users will save roughly $1.92 billion in interest over the next 12 months if the Fed cuts its target rate by 25 basis points on September 17 (88% probability)
Mortgage Savings Boost: The Fed’s September 17 rate cut has already decreased the cost of the average 30-year mortgage by $9,763 over the life of the loan, as mortgages have fixed rates that are priced with a far longer time frame in mind than other borrowing methods
Auto Loan Rate Drop: WalletHub expects the average APR on a 48-month new car loan to drop by around 12 basis points in the months following a 25-basis-point Fed rate cut.

See the full results of WalletHub’s Fed Rate Survey.

“U.S. credit card users added $28 billion to their tab during the second quarter of the year, according to WalletHub’s analysis of new data from the Federal Reserve. Although this increase wiped out roughly half of our first quarter paydown, it’s 31% below the average amount that we’ve added during the second quarter of the year dating back to 2021. That’s the good news,” John Kiernan, WalletHub Editor, said.

“The bad news is consumer confidence in the economy is flagging, and concerns about inflation are sky high. Nearly 3 in 5 Americans think the economy is getting worse, according to a new WalletHub survey, and 77% of people are more worried about inflation stealing their money than AI stealing their job. A Fed rate cut in September could save households billions over the next 12 months, but people still aren’t very excited due to their expectations for high prices for the foreseeable future.”

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Ray Hanania

Ray Hanania is an award-winning opinion columnist, author & former Chicago City Hall reporter (1977-1992). A veteran who served during the Vietnam War and the recipient of four SPJ Peter Lisagor Awards for column writing, Hanania writes weekly opinion columns on mainstream American & Chicagoland topics for the Southwest News-Herald, Des Plaines Valley News, the Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers, and Suburban Chicagoland.

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Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.

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