Monday, November 17, 2008

Credit Card Crush

I use credit cards like the rest of the world but expressly for convenience. I'm not all that loyal either meaning if a bank makes me mad for one reason or another I defect. But as a rule I only use one card at a time, though I have plenty of open credit; too much in fact to be offered any more. I always pay any balance in full each month since I refuse to pay one red cent in finance charges. And, like everyone, I receive innumerable credit card offerings in the mail - each and every month for years upon years. I've always thought that this predatory practice was too tempting for people who really don't understand how credit works or who don't consider the consequences of excessive debt - aside from how expensive it is to market this way. So fully anticipating some kind of backlash in the credit markets this year I decided to conduct a little experiment. For the last 12 months I've saved all the credit card offers that came to me in the mail. There was a grand total of 123 credit card offers alone, not including HELOC offers. Is it any wonder we're in in the mess we're in? I suspect credit card default is the next shoe to drop. At least a few of these banks are in trouble or have been acquired by others, but this is breakout:
AMEX: 19
Chase: 26
Citibank: 20
US Bank:5
WAMU: 11
B of A: 17
Capital One: 21
One Card: 2
Discover: 2

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