Everyone is struggling to survive this incredibly difficult economic time, and credit card companies are no exception.

Desperate to recover some of the losses experienced over the last year or two because of the meltdown of the credit sector and the subsequent fall of the housing market, many creditors began to employ less-than-upfront tactics to saddle consumers with more debt. As a result, the government enacted the new credit card legislation, which simply led to more underhanded credit card tactics before the law could be enacted.

You may have very well found yourself in the crosshairs of this credit card mess.

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By Curtis Arnold, CardRatings.com Founder

If you carry a credit card, you should circle February 22, 2010 on your calendar. That’s the day when key provisions of the new credit card legislation take effect.

The state of the economy has already taken its toll on Americans’ credit scores. By the first quarter of 2009, TransUnion, a major credit bureau, estimated that average credit scores among the consumers it tracks had fallen by six points from three quarters earlier. Many Americans have found themselves in a tough predicament: unable to qualify for the same no-interest credit card offers that used to clutter our mailboxes, yet facing higher costs to carry consumer debt. The

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Law enforcers may breathe a sigh of relief now that a hacker thought to be the mastermind behind the theft of data from more than 170 million credit cards is safely behind bars.

Albert Gonzales, a 28 year-old Florida resident a.k.a. under the code name the soup nazi, was recently indicted for the largest ever data breach in the United States – involving over 130 million compromised credit and debit card numbers and account information. The card information was stolen from Heartland Payment Systems, Inc. in 2008 along with retailers 7-Eleven, Inc., New England-based grocery chain Hannaford Brothers Co., plus two other, unidentified corporations. H

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A secured credit card is not as famous as other cards. For those who still do not know what a secured card is, it is a card available to those with bad credit records. These cards are useful not only to those with bad standing or ratings, but also those who want to have a good credit history. This can also be used by people who wish to buy expensive things without being in debt. How is this possible? Read on and you will find out.

Secured credit card can be considered as an instrument in improving one’s credit standing. The fact that you do not have to pay interest charges in your purchases is a great consolation. You will need to do sacrifices at the start, but as you use it, you will understand just how it greatly benefits you.

A secured credit card is just like any other card in the market. T

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If you’re upset about the latest fee increase or credit limit cut from your card issuer, you may wonder if all credit card companies are the same, or if you have alternatives. Is there such a thing as a kinder, friendlier credit card company? Do some credit card companies stand out among the crowd for better rates, rewards, or even-dare we say-fairer terms and better customer service?

Well, don’t expect to come across a card issuer with an inclination towards the warm and fuzzy any time soon. However, there is indeed a difference among credit card companies, at least as measured by customer satisfaction. According to the 2009 Credit Card Satisfaction Study by the consumer research company J.D. Pow

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