WASHINGTON–U.S. consumers are once again adding new credit card debt by the billions racking up $67.1 billion during Q2 2022, according to WalletHub’s latest Credit Card Debt Study, which also offers insights into trends on card pricing, fees and performance.
“That is an all-time record for credit card debt added during the second quarter of a year,” according to WalletHub, which is now projecting consumers will add a total of $110 billion in debt during 2022.
It’s debt, the company added, that will only become more expensive as rates continue to rise.
According to WalletHub, the rise in debt is not uniform across the country, as some areas have bigger payment problems than others. With that in mind, WalletHub said it compared all the states based on how much residents owe to credit card companies – specifically, how those balances changed in Q2. The findings can be seen in the chart, below
The company said that monitoring the credit card landscape offers insights into the health of the U.S. consumer.
“For example, 0% introductory APRs and initial rewards bonuses dried up during the Great Recession. And the decline in consumer credit quality during that period was a big reason why,” WalletHub said.
According to WalletHub, some of the primary credit card industry trends include:
Main Credit Card Industry Trends
Interest Rates
- The average credit card APR is 18.89% as of Q2 2022 – a year-over-year increase of 85 basis points.
- The average APR among secured credit card offers increased the most compared to last year, rising by 120 basis points, from 17.75% in Q2 2021 to 18.95% in Q2 2022.
Initial Perks (0% APRs & Rewards Bonuses)
- The average cash back credit card’s initial rewards bonus increased by 7.88% in Q2 2022, compared to last year.
- The average initial bonus awarded in terms of miles/points increased by 14.1% compared to last year.
- Credit card companies are emphasizing balance transfers over new-purchase financing, offering 0% intro rates on balance transfers for 13.4% longer. This discrepancy began to emerge in Q4 2013.
Fees
- The average credit card annual fee is $21.47 – up by 3.67% compared to last year.
- The average balance transfer fee is 2.47%. It has decreased by 18.75% compared to last year.
- The average foreign transaction fee on a credit card is 1.49% – down by 36% since Q3 2014.
- The average cash advance fee on a credit card is $8.18.
- That marks an increase of just 0.74% in the past quarter, but it’s still 44.47% lower than the average cash advance fee from Q4 2016.
Complaints & Satisfaction
- 10.89% less credit card complaints were filed with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau during Q2 2022 than the prior quarter.
- The types of CFPB complaints that increased the most during Q1 were those categorized as being related to: “Identity theft / Fraud / Embezzlement” (66.5%), “Credit card protection / Debt protection” (11%) and “Closing / Cancelling account” (9.3%). Complaints related to “Credit” (-22.4%), “Advertising and marketing” (-5.3%) and “Customer service / Customer relations” (-4.4%) fell the most.
Navy FCU Leads Way
Navy Federal Credit Union had the most-satisfied credit card customers during the second quarter of 2022, earning a WalletHub Satisfaction Score of 91.34. Synchrony Bank cardholders were the least pleased, with the issuer earning a score of just 74.8 (see chart, below)
Customer Satisfaction With Large Issuers
| Rank | Issuer | WalletHub Satisfaction Score | CFPB Complaints Per $1 Billion Outstanding | Satisfactory Response | WalletHub Reviews |
| Max 100 Points | Max 60 Points | Max 20 Points | Max 20 Points | ||
| 1 | Navy FCU | 91.34 | 57.34 | 20.00 | 14.00 |
| 2 | Amex | 90.74 | 58.07 | 20.00 | 12.67 |
| 3 | U.S. Bank | 90.64 | 57.97 | 20.00 | 12.67 |
| 4 | Discover | 90.63 | 57.29 | 20.00 | 13.33 |
| 5 | Chase | 89.91 | 57.91 | 20.00 | 12.00 |
| 6 | Credit One Bank | 89.28 | 59.95 | 20.00 | 9.33 |
| 7 | Bank of America | 89.13 | 56.75 | 19.70 | 12.67 |
| 8 | PNC Bank | 88.90 | 57.56 | 20.00 | 11.33 |
| 9 | Wells Fargo | 88.40 | 56.40 | 20.00 | 12.00 |
| 10 | USAA | 88.15 | 57.48 | 20.00 | 10.67 |
| 11 | Citibank | 87.65 | 56.32 | 20.00 | 11.33 |
| 12 | Capital One | 86.08 | 54.75 | 20.00 | 11.33 |
| 13 | Barclays | 83.62 | 52.28 | 20.00 | 11.33 |
| 14 | Goldman Sachs | 76.70 | 48.04 | 20.00 | 8.67 |
| 15 | Synchrony Bank | 74.80 | 45.46 | 20.00 | 9.33 |
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