ChargeItI think I watch this Frontline series online about once a year, it is that good. Whether you think credit card debt is ok or not, or if you have 8 thousand dollars or zero dollars in credit card debt; this is a good series to watch no matter what.

The series originally aired on the Frontline tv series right around Thanksgiving of 2004. It seems like it has been a lot longer than that, but I think that is only because this series has a lot of impact.

I was recently going over the site again and thought I would highlight their eight things a credit card user should know:

1= Even if you make your credit card payments on time, the credit card bank can raise your interest rate automatically if you’re late on payments elsewhere ‘” such as on another credit card or on a phone, car, or house payment ‘” or simply because the bank feels you have taken on too much debt.

2= Your credit score ‘” known as a FICO score ‘” has become a vital statistic for many Americans and can be widely shared. It is used to determine how much you can borrow, how much you pay for life insurance, if you can rent a home, and, as already noted, it can be a factor in determining the interest rate you pay on a credit card.

3= There is no limit on the amount a credit card company can charge a cardholder for being even an hour late with a payment.

4= It’s important to read the fine print on your credit card agreement.

5= Many Americans are inattentive about their credit card accounts. ‘œApproximately 35 million Americans pay only the required minimum ‘” as low as 2 percent ‘” of their balance each month. Sticking to that rate, it could take years to clear their debt and they’ll end up paying far more than the cost of the items or services they bought.’

6= There is no federal limit on the interest rate a credit card company can charge.

7= Significant credit card debt can put you at a markedly higher risk of bankruptcy.

8= You can get help. (Debtor’s Anonymous?)

For the entire series you can go to their homepage for the flash version of the Secret History of the Credit Card, and since this series was run in 2004, there have been some updates to the credit card industry and bankruptcy laws, so you may want to read those first. There is a nice ‘œExplore‘ area that covers some other aspects to credit cards, from marketing strategies of the credit card companies to how credit cards are viewed in other countries.

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Dawn C. is site owner of Frugalforlife.com where this is a repost from: Frontline on the History of Credit Cards. Dawn is residing in Colorado with her spouse, Teri, of 11 years.