credit card debt is Satans curse. it's one of the worst financial traps there is. I'd suggest seriously considering how soon you need an ac unit. I also seriously suggest once this is sorted going over your financials and cutting back until you have at least a 3-6 month emergency fund. it can be hard but it will save you a lot down the road because you won't have to take on those crazy interest payments and it will give you peace of which is priceless in my opinion.

a home improvement loan would be better if you can get one

Check with your electric company and see if they do HVAC loans. It's seriously the better way to go.

We had the same issue, so we purchased 2 window units for under $500 total.

$10K for an air conditioner? What is it? An industrial one? A hyper-modern wi-fi capable air conditioner costs no more than $1000, brother. You buy 3 for a large house and it's still $3K.

When our AC went, I was able to get an interest free 5 year loan with the company that put it in.. might want to look and see if anyone offers that option still. Good luck!

You could look into buying window ACs. The one I have was about $150 and it's still working 4 years later.