New survey reveals that 24% of consumers owe more than $10,001 in credit card debt

20% of Americans don’t know whether they have credit card debt. Source: shutterstock.com

Consumers are largely unaware of their credit card debt and its impact, with 21% not knowing if they have debt and 30% unaware of how much credit card interest they pay each month, according to US News & World Report.

Most consumers carry a balance on one (37%) or two (27%) credit cards, with 12% of respondents carrying debt on five or more cards.

Additional findings from the US News & World Report survey:

• Consumers have either little or extreme amounts of credit card debt. 60% of consumers do not have any credit card debt. Of those who do, 25% reported revolving credit card debt ranging from $1 to $2,000, while 24% reported more than $10,001 in credit card debt. What’s more, 13% say credit card debt causes them to struggle to make ends meet, and 15% say their debt regularly limits their spending.
• People think they can easily manage multiple cards. Forty-nine percent of consumers do not find it difficult to manage multiple monthly payments. Only about 14% say it’s moderately or very difficult.
• Generally, consumers haven’t taken advantage of balance transfers. Almost half of the respondents surveyed (48%) said they have never used a balance transfer offer. But 17% saved money on interest payments, and 12% paid off their balance before the offer ended.
• Consumers are naive when it comes to potential fees. Almost half of the respondents (45%) didn’t know whether their credit card charged a balance transfer fee.

The Balance Transfer Survey was conducted through Google Surveys. From May 15 to 18, the survey asked 10 questions related to credit card debt and balance transfers and sampled 1,001 people in the general American population.

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