Reply #27: The credit card companies are in trouble for offering credit too freely.

[TexasObserver]

It makes perfect sense that they would cut back your credit lines and everyone else's, too. The credit pie is shrinking. An economy with less productivity has fewer dollars to service credit card debt. These companies cannot afford to lose more money, and allowing limits 4-5 times the top charge is a trap for such companies. As you state, you'd use the cards in an emergency, transferring your economic trouble to them. That's why they're cutting back. Too many consumers with financial problems are riding their credit lines down, often on the way to bankruptcy.