By Curtis Arnold, Founder of CardRatings.com

Chase recently made a major announcement regarding the credit card interest rates of its customers. Chase, as of March 1, 2008, will no longer increase the rates of cardmembers based on their credit-bureau information.

Consumer advocates have long decried the controversial industry practice commonly known as universal default, under which a customer’s rate could be automatically raised based on a single late payment to another creditor. And, although Chase ceased practicing universal default in 2005, Chase is now going further by completely eliminating rate increases based on credit-bureau information. This change is part of the continuing expansion of Chase's Clear & Simple initiative – an ongoing program to help Chase customers better understand and manage their account. more

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Will others follow? We'll see.