You might think this is the worst time to try to negotiate a better deal with your credit card company, but you're mistaken.

It's true that the nation's credit crunch has resulted in card issuers reducing credit lines, canceling unused accounts and raising interest rates. But you don't have to sit by.

"It's kind of counterintuitive," said Curtis Arnold, founder of card-comparison Web site CardRatings.com and author of "How You Can Profit From Credit Cards."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/yourmoney/chi-090125-spending,0,1448939.story