Overall credit card debt levels reached a new record high of $1.08 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve. More Americans are carrying debt from month to month, with 49% of cardholders doing so compared to 46% last year. Credit card interest rates are at an all-time high average of 20.74% making debt harder to pay off. Minimum payments on average balances of $6,088 would take over 17 years to pay off, costing over $9,000 in interest. Rising rates and inflation are driving more Americans into long-term credit card debt cycles that are difficult to escape.