To the Point
The Credit Card Economy Comes Home to Roost
Credit card companies made big money by extending balances and reducing interest rates to millions of US consumers. But times have changed. Now, when other businesses are desperate for customers, credit card companies are reducing credit lines, jacking up rates and even closing accounts.
By Warren Olney • • 1 min readCredit card companies made big money by extending balances and reducing interest rates to millions of US consumers. But times have changed. Now, when other businesses are desperate for customers, credit card companies are reducing credit lines, jacking up rates and even closing accounts. But, when their “best” customers charge a lot but pay back only a little, how do they decide who to get rid of and who to keep on the hook? What happens when an industry that extends “easy credit” in good times has to contract? Is anyone looking out for consumers?
Warren Olney
former KCRW broadcaster
Andrea Brody
Senior Producer, KCRW's Life Examined and To the Point podcast
Christian Bordal
Managing Producer, Greater LA
Kelli Grant
Senior Consumer Reporter, SmartMoney.com
Robert Manning
Rochester Institute of Technology
Gail Hillebrand
Manager, Consumers Union's Financial Services Advocacy Campaign