How much credit card debt is too much right now? Experts weigh in

MoneyWatch: Managing Your Money How much credit card debt is too much right now? Experts weigh in We may receive commissions from some links to products on this page. Promotions are subject to availability and retailer terms. .chip { background-image: url('/fly/bundles/cbsnewscore/images/chip-bgd/chip-bgd-moneywatch.jpg'); } By Aly J Yale Aly J Yale Aly J. Yale is a contributing writer for the Managing Your Money section for CBSNews.com, covering various personal finance topics, including investing, homebuying, loans and more. Read Full Bio Aly J Yale May 4, 2026 / 9:54 AM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google If you want to keep your credit card debt levels manageable, you need to know how much is too much right now. Getty Images/iStockphoto Credit card debt is climbing, and it's becoming a real issue among borrowers nationwide. Case in point? Americans held about $1.23 trillion in total credit card balances in the last quarter of 2025 — a record level that was up by tens of billions from the previous quarter. In turn, the average borrower now holds nearly $6,600 in credit card debt.That might not seem like a huge amount at first glance, but with credit cards carrying an average rate of over 21% these days, even a small balance can snowball quickly. As a result, borrowers need to be hyper-vigilant about monitoring their debt balances and understand how to recognize when their debt is getting out of hand. Want to make sure your debts remain manageable? Here's how much is typically too much, according to experts.Learn how to start getting rid of your high-rate debt for less today.What's too much credit card debt in today's economy? Experts weigh inExperts say it's hard to put a hard and fast number on what's "too much" credit card debt, but looking at your total balances — and how much of your total credit limit they make up — is a good place to start."It should be below about 30% of your available credit," says Bobbi Rebell, a certified f...