Minneapolis
CNN Business
 — 

There has long been a threshold that few issuers of store-branded credit cards have been willing to surpass: the 30% annual percentage rate.

However, amid a rapid succession of blockbuster rate hikes by the Federal Reserve, those lines in the sand are quickly being crossed. At least a half-dozen major retail credit cards — including those for Kroger, Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s, Shell, Exxon Mobil and Wayfair — recently bumped up their maximum APRs to more than 30%, according to Matt Schulz, chief credit analyst for LendingTree.

“That ceiling is beginning to crack,” Schulz said.

And that credit is getting costlier as high inflation is forcing American consumers to rack up more debt.

On Tuesday, the latest household debt and credit report from the New York Federal Reserve showed that American households accumulated $16.5 trillion in debt during the third quarter and were loading up their credit card balances at a pace not seen in more than 20 years. The increases come amid robust consumer demand and higher prices for everything from mortgages to food to fuel.

“The biggest immediate risk may be that it’s going to make an already expensive holiday shopping season even more so,” Schulz said. “And that’s the last thing people need.”

Consumers have increasingly leaned on credit cards during this period of histo