Defaulting on multiple cards causes issues that can spiral quickly. But what happens if you take that approach?
For millions of Americans, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find the balance between borrowing money and repaying what’s owed. That isn’t stopping borrowers from racking up more credit card debt, though. With sticky inflation stretching household budgets, many cardholders have found themselves relying on this type of high-rate, short-term borrowing to cover their basic needs. And, the numbers paint a sobering picture. Credit card balances topped $1.23 trillion in the third quarter of 2025, an all-time high, according to the latest data.
At the same time, delinquencies have steadily increased, due in large part to average credit card APRs remaining above 22%, which can cause unpaid balances to balloon quickly due to compound interest charges. As a result, some borrowers are now dealing with an even more serious problem than just increasing card debt. They’re also facing the possibility of defaulting on all of their credit cards. Missing a single payment can trigger fees and higher interest rates, but missing several, or defaulting completely, opens the door to a cascade of financial and legal consequences.
Default doesn’t happen overnight, but when it does occur, the fallout can be severe and long-lasting. And, if you aren’t careful, the effects will ripple through nearly every aspect of your financial life. So what exactly can happen if you stop paying all of your credit cards? Below, we’ll detail the answer to this critical question.
Find out what relief strategies you can use to start tackling your high-rate debt.What happens if you default on all of your credit cards?
Defaulting on one credit card is bad enough, but defaulting on all of them can quickly become a financial nightmare. When you stop making payments for several months, your credit card issuers will first report your missed payments to the credit bureaus.
