It's getting deep already with not one but two developments on this front. We start with an oldie, but a goodie from CitiGroup. Last year, when the heat was on about Universal Default, the folks down at Citi thought that they could gain advantage in the marketplace by not screwing their customers via a Universal Defaul policy. What an idea! Earlier this year, when things got hot and heavy in DC, Citi came out smelling like a rose by stating that they had stopped beating their wife using Universal Default and jacking customer's rates up for no reason, and everyone else hadn't. Thus their "a deal is a deal" pledge/promise/ad campagin/bold-face-lie.

Well, you can't find too much info on those policies on Citi's website... because they are reconsidering them! Turns out that a deal is not a deal after all (at least in South Dakota), and perhaps that little slogan has done it's job by winning over several lawmakers. But it has failed to win over customers. I guess their deal didn't work out so well outside of Washington. Oh well. Back to screwing over consumers!

So what else is next? Well, I'm glad you asked! Delta will now start charging you to use those "free" SkyMiles that you've been racking up on their AmEx card. They've called this a 'fuel surcharge', but take it for what it is - another fee. This could be a precursor - a small hole in the leave, resulting in a tidal wave of other cards charging to access those lush rewards that have you all worked into a froth. We haven't seen this... yet. Be forewarned - the seal has been broken. In an economy where many are less and less able to pay on their debts, lenders are looking for sweet, sweet profits wherever they can find them. Even if that means cutting into your sweet, sweet rewards. US Airways (are they still in business?) and American Airlines have already started charging processing fees on those so-called "free" tickets. Who's next?