1998 COMMENTARY
We Feel Good
 - Plastic fever hits American consumers as the holiday shopping season begins; gift cards are in vogue this year; VISA wants to pay for your holiday purchases in full and a surge of holiday stats that will make your eyes glaze over. (Dec 98)
Legal Eagles
 - The FTC shuts down credit repair firms under "Operation Eraser" and crackdowns on firms selling merged credit reports; May Department Stores makes restitution and Advanta prepares to settle over its "SmartMove" program. Plus new cards released ahead of the holiday.(Nov 98)

Antitrust ???
 - The U.S. government goes after VISA and MasterCard's cozy relationship; the Feds give consumers a Christmas gift; Chase releases a card for tired eyes and overall promotional interest rates on credit card hit a historical low this fall. (Oct 98)
Reborn & Makeover
 - BankAmerica returns, Discover gets a facelift, Trans Union gets too personal and the IRS prepares to take credit cards for taxes. Plus a reward maximizer tool and a new card to tap into home equity(Sept 98)

Summer Brakes
 - Card debt slows to its lowest rate of increase in six years; Citibank remains top dog; NextCard does one better; NationsBank beefs up its airline card and CardGame is back, and even better. (Aug 98)
Rising Rates
 - Despite reports to the contrary, credit card rates are rising as well as platinum fees; The E*Trade VISA and the Garfield MasterCard debut this month and there are jitters about the year 2000.(July 98)

Fraud Tops $1 Billion
 - Counterfeit cards are showing up again however credit card fraud remains under control; Low fixed-rate cards are also showing up again and some consumers are running out-of-rope by switching card debt to house debt. (June 98)
Platinum Payoffs
 - Platinum cards are red hot, Chase juices up the Shell card and the Bio Card comes ashore.(May 98)

April Card Showers
 - Credit card use picks up and new card offers from VISA, Chase, First USA, GE Capital are set to capture the increased activity. The bankruptcy debate continues. (April 98)
Web Card Battle
 - Two web cards hit the market this year and promptly hit on each other; Capital One's secret weapon; and convenience stores want to be your bank and phone company.(Mar 98)

Olympic Spirit
 - Visa capitalizes on the Winter Games, platinum cards approach 15 million and the card sharks are out in force again but credit card fraud is dropping. (Feb. 98)

The Road Ahead
 - As the new year begins it appears the credit card industry may finally be getting its bearings back after two tumultuous years(Jan 99)

Past Commentaries
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