How much can you save with debt consolidation in 2026?
Debt consolidation can slash interest charges, but how much you actually save depends on your balance and rate.
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March 25, 2026 / 11:16 AM EDT / CBS News
If you've ever carried a revolving balance on your credit card, you may know from experience that the math is designed to work against you. While the balance on your credit card statement stays front and center, the interest quietly compounds in the background. At today's average credit card rate of about 21%, that can result in paying thousands of dollars in interest on even a modest balance. And, not all cardholders are carrying modest balances. Millions of borrowers are sitting on five-figure card balances, and the gap between what they owe and what they'll ultimately pay grows wider with every billing cycle.
In these cases, debt consolidation , which allows you to roll your high-rate balances into a lower-rate personal loan, can be one of the most useful tools to employ. Right now, personal loan rates are averaging about 12%, which means that the rates on these loans are about 9% lower than the average credit card APR. That may not sound significant, but when stretched across tens of thousands of dollars and several years of repayment, it translates into money that can either stay in your pocket or disappear into a lender's coffers.
Whether debt consolidation makes sense for your situation, though, depends on how much you stand to save. So how much can you actually save with debt consolidation if you take the plunge this year, and what options are available if consolidation isn't the right fit? Those are the questions we'll answer below.
Learn how to get help with your high-rate credit card debt now .