Credit card debt balances can easily spiral out of control if not addressed appropriately.
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With the end of 2025 just weeks away, many adults may find themselves reflecting on the past year and their overall financial health. Unfortunately, the reality is that many still find themselves struggling with the burden of debt, with credit card debt specifically remaining a major concern now. The average American owes thousands of dollars in credit card debt right now and that's during a time in which the average credit card interest rate sits over 20%, just under a record high. For these borrowers, it pays to start thinking about the ways to regain their financial freedom in the new year.
Credit card debt forgiveness may offer the solution. This unique and valuable debt relief alternative can result in balances being reduced by 30% to 50%, approximately, depending on your eligibility criteria and the debt relief company being used. To better determine if this strategy applies to your situation, however, and to decide on the next steps, if helps to start thinking through the answer to select credit card debt forgiveness questions now, heading into 2026. Below, we'll detail three worth contemplating.
Review your top credit card debt relief options here now.
Credit card debt forgiveness questions to ask heading into 2026
Not sure if credit card debt forgiveness is the right debt relief tactic to take next year? Here are three questions to contemplate that can help you determine if it is:
Do I even qualify?
Start with the fundamentals, namely your credit card debt forgiveness qualifications. Not everyone will be eligible for this type of debt relief. You'll typically need at least $7,500 in outstanding debt to qualify. You'll also need to be behind on payments, which helps demonstrate a true inability to pay (making minimum payments each month won't be applicable). And you'll need proof of financial hardship that supports your inability to make these payments.
So, start thinking through these qualifications now. If you can easily meet them, then this may be a credit card debt relief option worth pursuing further. If you don't, however, alternatives like a debt management program or credit counseling may be more appropriate.
Check your credit card debt forgiveness eligibility online here.
Will the economic climate improve enough to justify delaying action?
The Federal Reserve has issued five interest rate cuts over the past year, approximately, helping to cool the interest rate climate. Another cut is possible for December, as are others in 2026, leading some to wonder whether the economic climate will improve enough on its own to justify avoiding aggressive credit card debt relief action now. Waiting, however, is likely not the right approach for several reasons.
Credit card rates are based on the prime rate, not the federal funds rate that the Fed controls. So cuts to the latter won't necessarily mean reductions for the former. And even if the Fed rate cuts were replicated by the precise amounts for the prime rate, those are just small, 25-basis-point cuts now, leading to little tangible relief for borrowers saddled with credit card rates of 20% or higher. And, in the interim, your existing credit card debt will compound each day, making it even more difficult to dig out. So don't wait for any external economic conditions to change drastically enough to justify sitting idle right now.
Are alternative debt relief options a better fit?
If credit card debt forgiveness doesn't quite meet your needs, there are alternative debt relief options that may be better. Debt management programs and credit counseling, as noted, may be helpful. Debt consolidation loans, in which you consolidate your existing debt by paying it off with one lower-rate loan, may be sufficient, too. Balance transfer credit cards, while not so much a traditional debt relief tool, can also help, if used in a timely and strategic manner.
Take these final weeks of the year, then, to not only evaluate credit card debt forgiveness options, but be sure to measure them against your alternative solutions to better determine which meets your unique needs and goals.
The bottom line
Credit card debt forgiveness could be a solution to your high-rate (and growing) credit card debt balance going into 2026 … or it may not be. By contemplating the answers to the above questions, borrowers can better determine which category they fall into and, more importantly, begin building a reliable debt relief plan that can help them regain their financial freedom permanently.
Edited by Angelica Leicht
