I've been a loyal customer of Nordstrom in the last 2 years. Never late on my payments and always paying above my minimum payment. Yesterday I got a notice from Nordstrom:
"...We recognize that times are tough and many of our customers are affected by what is happening in the current economic environment.
"Given this climate, we need to make adjustments to our credit card offering. Enclosed are the details of these changes."
The main change was to raise my APR from 19.90% (high enough) to 22.90% (usury).
Signed this notice are: Kevin Knight (chairman and CEO, Nordstrom Bank) and Eva Chadwick (president, Nordstrom Bank).
When I called Nordstrom customer-service, they said they must raise the APR because of what is called now a "credit card crunch" and because it's so hard to borrow money.
So much for Nordstrom's concern about their customer's tough times. We must tighten our belts but no such thing for Nordstrom!