2 in 5 U.S. credit card holders have topped out their spending limit, report finds

Inflation may be cooling, but when it comes to credit card debt more than a third of cardholders are finding themselves in hot water.

Roughly 2 in 5 credit cardholders, or 37%, have either maxed out a credit card or come close to doing so since the Federal Reserve began hiking interest rates in March 2022, according to a new online survey of 3,576 U.S. adults by personal finance firm Bankrate.

Lower-income earners, older people and families those with children under the age of 18 are more likely to say they've reached their credit spending limit since the central bank started raising its benchmark rate, the survey found. Of those respondents, 54% point to inflation as the main reason why they've tapped out a card, while 38% cite emergency expenses, 25% cite job or income loss, and 22% point to medical costs.