Deleveraging

What a reversal of course! Just last year, my mailbox was inundated with offers for new credit cards, including from American Express (my wife has an AmEx, but I don't). Now, however, comes the news that AmEx is paying some of their customers $300 to pay off balances and close their accounts. I guess they're targeting customers that are at a higher risk of default, figuring maybe with some incentive AmEx can avoid being one of their creditors when the inevitable defaults follow. A brave new world, indeed.