The mortgage crisis may soon be replaced by the credit card crisis and more Americans are defaulting on their credit cards. After years of flooding the mail with credit card offers and towering credit lines, lenders are now sharply curtailing both offers and lines of credit in an effort to preserve capital after writing off more than $21 billion in bad credit card loans in the first half of 2008 alone.

Many experts expect the credit card industry to write off an additional $55 billion over the next year and a half as total losses could surpass the 7.9% default rate reached after the technology bubble burst in 2001. Lenders have been quick to react by hiking fees, cutting reward programs, and decreasing their credit lines even among wealthy customers.

Credit card companies are realizing that they need to cut back sharply as there is no room for extra credit cards. People are completely maxed out with mortgages, home equity lines, and credit card debt. When forced to decide whether to pay a mortgage and lose a house or default on a credit card, it is often an easy decision for cash-strapped consumers to make.

Those that want to preserve their credit scores, however, may want to look into alternatives to simply defaulting. One of the best ways to get your bills paid reasonably is negotiating with your creditors. This can be done personally by calling them up or via professionals through so-called debt settlement companies.