Congressional hearings on excessive card fees resumed in Washington

Scrutiny of credit card companies by legislators could spur credit card rate relief for credit card consumers according to an article in today's San Jose Mercury News. Chase Bank, one of the top five credit card issuers, announced that it will no longer increase a cardholder's interest rate when his/her credit score declines, starting March 1, 2008. This is imortant because your credit score could decline if you have too many credit-check inquiries, or if you close an old account, or if you increase your debt, or simply pay a bill late. Citigroup, another major credit card issuer, made changes after Congressional hearings last summer. Citi stopped the practice of "universal default" rate increases. Similar to Chase, this means Citi will no longer raise cardholders' rates over a late payment on another company's credit card. Citi will also stop adjusting cardholder's original interest rates during the intial credit card agreement term, typically two years.