Strong consumer spending plus rising prices are factors.
Americans' credit card debt reached $1.26 trillion, increasing by $21 billion in the second quarter of this year, according to new data Tuesday from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Overall, outstanding credit card balances are now just shy of the $1.28 trillion all-time record set in the fourth quarter of last year.
Strong consumer spending typically results in higher credit card debt. Economists have also pointed to rising prices, including for essentials like groceries and gas, as a factor behind rising card balances.