CH 14: Costly Credit Card Trends

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Summary:

This article talks about the continuing trends of credit cards and how they could prove to be a costly problem in the future. As the credit card industry is growing and evolving, the interest rates are increasing along with it. Although many people carry credit cards today for convenience it's not always in the consumers benefit because there are many problems that can occur at any time. Many credit card companies have been luring in consumers by advertising rewards for a certain amount of money you use on the card, but little do we know, companies are always scheming to make the rewards more difficult to earn and limiting the amount you can earn each year. In the last ten years, late fees haven't been much of a problem, but as the credit card companies develop, the fees have been increased and more demanding. Identity theft is a major problem if you lose your credit card. Carrying large amounts of cash out would also be problematic, but losing your credit card could cost you even more trouble. As the companies develop, some problems arise with it.

Connection:

The connection I made in this article with chapter 14 is usage of bank credit cards. Credit cards have made our society a lot different from before, so that we can visualize it as cashless. Although credit cards have offered us much convenience, it could offer us even more inconvenience if we were to become too dependent on them. For example, if a person always used their credit card for everything, and one day they lost it, there is a risk that someone might use the credit card for their own use and could greatly damage the owner financially. Also, credit cards could pose to be financially troubling if you fail to meet deadlines where you have to pay the bank the amount you owe, resulting in interest adding up to your late fees.

Reflection:

I understand that people nowadays prefer credit cards over cash, but it might not always be in their best interest in mind. In the next few years, late fees and interest rates will no doubt increase dramatically along with the development and evolution of credit card companies. I predict that there will be new trends in the future where people will start to turn back into using cash because they want to save money and not pay extra fees due to the increasing rates of interest fees and due to the fact that everything is getting more expensive.