I think my husband mentioned something in passing to me about that credit card but I didn't pay attention. The blog is interesting. I especially like this line: "We suspect you’d likely get a better rate from Hesh, Tony Soprano’s old loan shark friend." That's hilarious and probably true.

I like how the article also mentions that this is a test of some kind by the credit card company, as if they would change it. There are a lot of credit card companies doing that these days, putting in fees and high interest rates, to see what the consumers will take and what they won't. Some credit companies are now charging fees to people that pay off their balances and don't carry any balances forward. They can't make money on them, therefore they are being punished.

I agree with what cmajaski mentions about people being desperate enough to use it and not being smart enough to stay away. Many people don't read the fine print or don't understand exactly what that percentage rate will mean to their payments.

It's sad to say that I don't think ethics are involved at all. It's legal therefore it's okay must be the mantra. The laws restricted fees but not interest rates. If you have ever noticed too in the more economically deprived parts of town and especially around military bases, there are tons of check cashing places to make money off of people who either don't balance their monthly bills, don't think about the repercussions of the percentage rate, or don't care. These places are somewhat unethical as well if you think about it, preying on people with poor monetary sense or people who get into some kind of monetary jam. But they are legal.

Anyway, I haven't quite answered the question. I might think that up to 10%ish might be okay because after all people are using money that they don't have and therefore are paying for the privilege of doing just that. If you don't want to pay the interest rates, then there is always using cash but credit card companies are very much a buyer-beware industry.