Consumers and lenders are meshing well together when it comes to credit cards.  Why?  Reasoning could be that there is a heightened level of confidence with spending, or because of a heightened level of panic due to the  inability to pay bills or pay for items with disposable income because of the issues in the housing crunch.

Articles across the internet are boasting the level of incentives the credit card companies are giving to it’s potential consumers in order to open yet ANOTHER credit account with them.  This is despite that the average interest levels for these cards have increased significantly over the last two years.

It’s important to understand that the credit crunch is making these credit card companies give massive incentives because their consumer base has shrunk over the last few years because of the very crisis’ that they created to begin with.

As homeowners in this volatile housing market, it might be wise to be cautious when applying for credit lines when other areas of your financial well being might be suffering.  Most of the credit card companies have switched from fixed rate interest to variable rate interest, similar to what was the adjustable rate mortgages that caused a massive stir in the foreclosure market.

Food for thought:  If interest rates in general start to rise, credit card costs will increase at a very rapid rate.  All the televisions, food, gas, etc. that were purchased on it, can quickly get outrageously expensive.
http://www.azcentral.com/business/articles/2011/08/26/20110826biz-CreditCards0827.html