Average Credit Cards with Great Rates

The Credit Cardholder’s Bill of Rights Act recently cleared the House Financial Services Committee last week and is garnering support from both sides of the aisle. This bill is designed to protect consumers from “unfair and deceptive” practices that the credit card issuers are engaging in like, universal default, two cycle billing and raising rates on existing balances, even for who pay on-time. The usual quid pro quo for the banking industry is to take heed of the saber rattling from Washington and “self regulate” before congress or the Fed has to step in.

The Fed addressed this issue in May basically agreeing that some credit card practices were unfair and need to be addressed. In that time, the card issuers have done very little to correct this situation other than making their warning labels more prominent. Some theorize that this is because credit card issuers are reeling from mortgage right-downs and are unable, or unwilling, to take the one-two punch. There is little doubt that by making these changes the credit card issuers will lose money; the latest independent study estimates 10 billion industry-wide.

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