You may want to shred your credit card. Credit card interest rates are still historically high right now. Credit card interest rates now average 20-percent -- the highest since Bankrate started surveying and tracking the numbers back in 1985. That means you’ll be paying much more than you think on anything you buy. Here’s the breakdown: The average credit card borrower has an outstanding balance of over 57-hundred dollars. At 20-percent interest, if borrowers make just the minimum payments every month it will take over 17 years to pay that off. They'll also pay about 84-hundred dollars in interest on top of the 57-hundred. More than one-third of Americans say they're carrying their highest level of debt ever or close to it, according to a Northwestern Mutual survey.