News and Articles:

• Bank credit card fees keep going up, USA Today
  In recent months, many issuers have raised interest rates for borrowers even as the Federal Reserve has cut rates. They're doing so ahead of a federal regulation that takes effect next year, curtailing their ability to raise rates on existing credit card debt, says Bill Hardekopf, CEO of LowCards.com. (03/24/09)
• The reason behind Capital One's rate increase, US News & World Report
  Last month, Capital One raised some eyebrows by significantly increasing their rates on new customers on the majority of their credit cards. The advertised annual percentage rate on these 15 cards increased from an average of 12.45 percent to 17.24 percent. One could ask, "What's left in your wallet?" (03/24/09)
• How to lower your credit card interest rate, MSNBC
  If you have a credit card, you might be getting a letter in the mail with some bad news: your credit card company is jacking up your interest rate. Never mind if you've been an excellent customer, whose always paid your bills on time. Some of the biggest credit card companies, including Capital One, Citibank, and HSBC, are now raising rates on millions of customers. (03/24/09)
• Credit card firms continue to raise interest rates and fees, Credit.com
  Has the interest rate on your credit card gone up recently? If so, you're not alone. In the past several months, a number of credit card companies have instituted changes to customers' accounts, increasing rates and tacking on fees. (03/24/09)
• House of Cards, New Yorker
  These tactics are not going to improve the credit-card industry’s dismal reputation. They’re also not going to help an economy in recession, since reduced credit lines take away an important cushion for consumer spending, and higher interest rates and increased fees are likely to drive more people to default. (03/24/09)
• American Express, Chase cut card limits lowering credit scores, Bloomberg
  About 45 percent of U.S. banks reduced credit limits for new or existing credit-card customers in the fourth quarter of 2008, according to a Federal Reserve January survey of senior loan officers. Financial institutions may slash $2 trillion in credit- card lines in the next 18 months, Meredith Whitney, a former Oppenheimer & Co. analyst, wrote in a Nov. 30 report. (03/24/09)
• Buy something, or else! Wall Street Journal
  One of the biggest causes of the financial crisis was that Americans were borrowing (and spending) more money than they could afford to pay back. So how are credit-card issuers reacting to consumers' attempts to live a more financially responsible lifestyle? They're threatening to cut their credit cards off if they don't spend enough. (03/24/09)
• Fewer cards, higher rates, lower limits Miami Herald
  Credit card users across the country find themselves in similar situations: Their interest rates are rising, their credit limits are shrinking, new fees are cropping up, the time to pay their bills is decreasing -- or their cards have been cut off altogether. (03/24/09)
• American Express' $300 Deal Shows Industry Trend, NPR
  American Express announced Monday it's offering $300 payments to a limited number of cardholders who agree to close their accounts. The company said the incentive will help reduce the risk of future defaults. (02/26/09)
• The credit card rate increase is in the mail, PBS
  Credit card companies have begun telling customers their interest rates are going up sharply, even on balances already owed. As Stephanie Dhue reports, a consumer's credit score could be the reason or there may be no reason at all. (02/23/09)
• Average card rates at 14%, Credit Card Monitor
  (02/23/09)
• Dodd says credit card companies gouging consumers, Bloomberg
  U.S. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd proposed new limits on fees and charges for consumer credit cards, saying an era of lax regulation had lead to “gouging” of U.S. consumers. (02/23/09)