How do you define usury? I personally could care less if a credit card company decides to charge 3,000% interest because I would just never use one of their credit cards.

There are many different credit cards with different fee structures and different interest rates. There is no one forcing people to sign up for any given credit card. People have the right to choose any credit card they like or none at all.

As long as card issuers are upfront and honest about their fees then they should be able to charge whatever interest rates they want to (and they can for the most part*) – however, your idea of not paying back debt that you decided on your own to take out is certainly a very bad decision.

No one forced you to rack up credit card debt and spend more than you earned. If you decide to not pay back the debt that you owe then yes you are in fact making a very bad decision.

It is actually pretty repulsive to hear you say things like “walk away from your credit card debt…because our government has abdicated responsibility to protect the consumer” WOW – now its the government’s fault and the credit card company’s fault because YOU racked up credit card debt and spent more money than you had in the bank. Riiiight…

It has become apparent that cash back credit cards have recently been on a steep decline as far as availability goes. Some might say that in these particularly difficult financial times, having CASH BACK would be what they want, ideally.

In 2005, 43 different credit cards offered cash back as a reward. in 2009, there are only 13. But what consumers need to come to realize, is that the cash back reward was usually limited to 15-20 dollars a month. so wouldnt you prefer to get air miles, which may save you much more than 15-20 dollars a month, next time you travel? Or how about something that you use everyday, like fuel. Free fuel is the same thing as free money essentially.

Busineses are the ones who seem to truly benefit from the cash back credit card reward. They don’t seem to have a limit per month, rather a .5% on their spendings.

@Fishsticks very sound advice, pay cash whenever possible. If using a credit card is a necessity make sure you are only using it to purchase necessary items (food, gas, etc) not holiday shopping, leisure spending and the like.

Also, switching to a credit union is def sound advice as they are member-owned and not-for-profit.

@Dick Do the above – you are not obliged to use these banks. I scream corporate crony-ism not socialism.