Americans are piling on credit-card debt just as interest rates are reaching historic highs. 

Multiple polls show American consumers sinking deeper into credit-card debt. A new survey from Bankrate, the consumer finance company, found 46 percent of cardholders carrying credit-card balances from month to month, up from 39 percent a year ago.  

A survey by NerdWallet, the personal finance company, found the average U.S. household carrying $7,486 in credit-card debt, a 29-percent increase from a year earlier. A third poll, from the personal finance website GOBankingRates, found that 14 million Americans owe more than $10,000 in credit-card debt. 

Card balances are rising at a time when consumers may find it harder than ever to pay them down. Credit-card interest rates hit 20 percent in late 2022, according to the Federal Reserve, the highest level in nearly 30 years of tracking.