At the end of 2015, debt owed by the 124.6 million households in the U.S. was $14.230 trillion. Credit cards accounted for 6.44% or $916.89 billion. At the end of 2014, credit card debt was 6.34% of total household debt. The ratio of credit card debt to household debt peaked in 1996 at 9.87%. Card debt is the combination of outstanding receivables tied to general purpose (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover) and private label (store, gasoline, medical, etc.) credit accounts. Credit card debt is compiled by The Nilson Report from its surveys of financial institutions and othe...