People who help people with their supply of drugs or alcohol are referred to as enablers. Many of us can also go down a slope of spending more than is good and using credit cards to fund excess spending. Recently news reports have focused on the increase in credit card delinquencies. So it is an increasing problem not just for the credit card issuers but also for the general public who has become addicted to the use of credit.

How do the credit card issuers deal with increased delinquencies. One of the ‘tonics’ is to increase interest rates and late payment fees. In some cases the interest rate charges can be 25% or more. Late payment charges generate billions in income to card issuers.

Now we are all able to enable people we know to become more dependent on credit and help fund the banks and credit card companies – and be rewarded for doing it. If you become a ‘pusher’ and get people you know to sign up for a new credit card – you can get a cash reward or an airline mileage award. The rewards for providing a ‘user’ can be in hundreds of dollars or thousands of air miles.

Today the person you refer may very well be able to afford getting another card. However, they will be signing up for a long-term relationship and their life may have some bumps. Just remember, the goal of the card issuers is partially to get new users but also to get additional interest income from people who fall into the trap. You may want to think twice about becoming an enabler.