Almost nothing is more of a hassle than dealing with a credit card company. I recently attempted to ask for a lower rate on my card and I can't imagine how bad it would be if I was hopelessly in debt.

I think the key is not ever dealing with a credit card company unless you have to. Don't pay one penny in interest and avoid purchases if you don't have the cash to pay for it. If you do become stuck it's not hopeless, but the shareholders want their money and they don't care what kind of hardships you're going through.

If you do have to deal with a credit card company, be polite but keep asking for what you want. When I attempted to secure a lower interest rate on my credit card I was very polite and asked for a supervisor. I felt a 17 percent rate on my credit card is ridiculous. An unpaid balance would double in only four years and paying the minimum on a significant balance would effectively mean you would pay the minimum payment for decades.

The first call I was told they would lower the rate by three percentage points. I felt 10 percent is very fair - to them - but several subsequent calls to the credit card call center resulted in nothing. They would not budge. I wrote a letter to their consumer affairs department, which was ignored. I was told by a front-line representative that the problem might be identity theft, but no one has used my identity besides me. The problem was that the company's system was not authorizing a lower rate so they wouldn't offer me anything else.

I was told several other options, which did not give me the rate I wanted. So I thought about what else to do.

Depending on the type of card you want, shop around for the best interest rates. If you have a decent credit rating credit card companies will trip over themselves to offer you a credit card.

Having a hedge is critical if you need to use your credit card in an emergency or carry a balance. Charge purchases to the card with the lowest rate, and if the credit card company doesn't want to lower the interest rate, don't give them your money.

Be disciplined and don't pay any more interest or fees than you have to. Let credit card companies know right away about fees and if they don't waive them tell them (politely) that you will not use their card again.

Much of the problem with credit cards is consumers who want everything right away and don't think about the problems caused by debt and the fact that no credit card company thinks about anything but the bottom line.

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