According to the U.S. Credit Score Climate Report, consumer credit card debt is declining. Between January and June 2011, consumer debt declined ten percent to an average of $6,472. Credit card issuers are now rewarding consumers for their effort to better manage their debt.
Underwriting standards are becoming looser, increasing individual credit line limits.
Millions of consumers are starting to receive credit card offers that include benefits like cash-back rewards, free balance transfers, travel upgrades, and airline miles. Visa cards offered by Bank of America, Capital One, and Chase include great new features.
American Express and MasterCard are following suit, offering consumers excellent perks.
In 12 states, credit card debt declined more than the drop in the national average. Leading the pack was New Hampshire, with a decline of 17 percent. Both Hawaii and Wisconsin had a 14 percent drop and New York, West Virginia, and Alabama were only slightly behind with a 13 percent decline.
At the other end of the spectrum are the states of Colorado, New Jersey, and Connecticut, whose residents have the highest average levels of personal debt.
Since the beginning of the year, the average credit score has held steady at 667. It has fallen only two points since June 2010. Kevin Lin is the CEO of the advocate group that published the report. The data his group discovered aligns with the optimistic view of economists for second half 2011.
Mr. Lin pointed to declining gas prices and leveling off of home costs in addition to the report findings.
Other positive state-specific trends are the small amount of car loan debt in Oregon, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. It seems that bad credit auto financing is not a major industry there. Oklahoma, Louisiana, and
Texas have the most auto loan debt. In terms of mortgages, debt has declined most in the state of Nevada this year, dropping by five percent.
