The banks are all bleeding money due to record high credit card default rates.  Compounding their problems is the Credit CARD Act of 2009.  Once the bill takes effect in February, there will be restrictions on interest rate hikes for all credit card issuers, so between now and then, the banks are doing all that they can to shore up their books and this means ratcheting up interest rates.  It’s not fair to consumers, but there will be some correction to these practices once the law becomes active.  Unfortunately, there’s not much you can do.  If you have good credit, you can shop around for a card that has a lower interest rate, transfer or payoff your balance and then close your old account. Other than that your only option is to accept the new interest rate, even if it is only for the period of time it takes you to payoff and close out your account.