Business credit cards still vulnerable to rate spikes, big late charges

The landmark CARD Act ushered in a host of consumer protections to keep us from being victimized by credit card companies. One of the biggest loopholes in the law is that it excludes business credit cards, so issuers can still do things like pile on the penalties for missing a payment by minutes and jack up an interest rate at a moment's notice.

Is it any surprise, then, that card companies are becoming more aggressive in peddling these cards, not only to owners of small corporations, but also to sole proprietors and independent contractors?

Credit card experts say companies are increasing their mailings of business card offers. "We do know there's a real interest among issuers in this market," says Gerri Detweiler, personal finance expert for Credit.com. Data from research company Synovate bears this out: The number of small business offers mailed out grew from 26 million in the first quarter of this year to 40.5 million in the second quarter.