Outline

Most American Should Not Use Credit Cards Even though Americans need credit cards in today’s society, most are ill prepared to use them properly, incurring overwhelming debt which damages their credit history; they should avoid using credit cards, or use them sparingly. Most Americans are not prepared or educated enough to use credit cards. Most Americans are unaware of the universal default penalty where card issuers check the credit report of consumers to see if there are late payments on other accounts and raise the consumer’s interest rate on their cards even if there is no late payment on the cards in question. Most Americans are unaware of the bait and switch card offers. This is when card-issuing companies offer a premium card at a very low interest while the fine print says the company can issue a more costly non-premium card with a higher annual percentage rate if the consumer fails to qualify for the premium card. The number of Americans who have poor credit card payment history and max out credit cards is very high. Almost 2 percent of all credit card users have made a late payment on a credit card. They usually pay a steep price. The national average for late payments is $29 and some banks as with Bank of America charge as much as $39 according to a recent study by Vertis, a marketing company that researches consumer credit usage and payment habits. I have found through personal experience and observation, when most Americans start making late payments, it only gets worse. Once the late fees and interest start to pile up, it is harder for people to keep up, which leads to poor credit, high interest, and more difficulty keeping up with credit card payments. The most important reason most Americans are not prepared or educated enough to use credit cards is because of the overwhelming credit card debt most Americans have.