Before you apply for any credit cards you should check to see what state the bank issuing the card is from. Not all credit cards are governed by the same laws. Take for example, the state of Delaware where the laws governing credit cards were changed to favor the banks and not the consumer.
As a way to attract banks to the state, Delaware changed their laws in the seventies to offer banks a place that would allow them to charge whatever interest rates on credit cards they wanted to. These laws were a great success for the state when many of the nation’s largest banks moved their credit cards divisions to Delaware.
If you get any offers for credit cards in the mail it might be a good idea to check the return address before applying. Most offers people get in the mail come from one of two states, with Delaware being to home to most of them.
People that decide to get credit cards from some of these large banks should really take the time to read all of the fine print that is associated with the offer. Major banks like Bank Of America and Chase provide all of their credit cards from Delaware because the usury laws there allow them to charge huge fees and interest rates to consumers.
People with solid credit scores will not have that much trouble finding credit cards from Delaware with low interest rates, but those with low credit scores would be a lot better off finding a provider of credit cards from another state. Not only do the laws in Delaware allow providers of credit cards to charge high interest rates, they also allow them to change a consumer’s interest rate with little to no notice.
Those with poor credit can save themselves a lot of money in interest and fees by getting credit cards from states that have good solid usury laws. Though it might be harder to get these credit cards, it would definitely be in the consumer’s best interest to try.
Though most people might feel that the current credit crisis is bad news, there is some good things happening in Washington that might really help consumers in the future. With congress taking notice of how banks in America do business, many in Washington are looking to reestablish the nation’s federal usury laws to help consumers.
Since the credit crisis started many of the nation’s credit card providers have been raising interest rates on credit cards for all of their customers. If this happens to you, the best thing you can do is call the credit card company and ask them to lower your rates. If after you talk to them, and they still will not lower your interest rate do not close your account because it will only hurt your credit rating. Instead, find a different credit card company and transfer the balance to that lower interest card.