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Credit Cards News Archive |
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Losing Credit Rewards
[05:33:36 AM Thursday, May 29, 2008]
As the credit card industry's new regulations are coming into force, customers begin to feel their effects little-by-little. And while the positive changes, such as the elimination of unfair penalty fees, hidden charges and "any time, any reason" hike of the interest rates are yet to come, some unfavorable aspects are already threatening the wellbeing of cardholders.
What shoals come with the new credit card laws and do the laws really care about credit consumers? Are their disadvantages meaningful enough to take the back track? Well, if you are a rewards-oriented cardholder, one of the latest bills is certainly out of your line.
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Credit Card PINs
[04:29:46 AM Monday, June 02, 2008]
Tired of standing in a queue and waiting for another credit card to be processed? You are not the only one who gets irritated having to waste your time on that customer's business. If you are a citizen of the United States, you could sigh with relief as the enhanced speed and security of credit card transactions are provided by the Radio Frequency ID technology which is becoming available with most big card issuers.
In Australia and New Zealand, however, customers are offered another option, namely - the option of entering a pin code on a keypad instead of signing your name on a receipt.
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Extra Cash Credit Card
[03:48:05 AM Thursday, June 05, 2008]
We are seeing Citi Group increase interest rates on many of their rather favorable previously credit cards. Such products as Citi(r) Dividend Platinum Select(r), Citi(r) Home Rebate Platinum Select(r) MasterCard(r) and Citi PremierPass MasterCard(r) have all acquired another 1% or 2% beyond.
However, a new rewards program introduced by the issuer seems to be paying customers scot and lot, compensating for the extra interest they have been charged.
The new program - Extra Cash from Citi - is designed to save customers significantly more money than they previously were able to, and for no greater hassle than just the need to use a participating Citi card.
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Credit Card Transaction Fees
[05:48:11 AM Monday, June 09, 2008]
Dick Durbin, a U.S. Senator, has joined the battle against unfair credit practices with his introduction of a new legislation concerning interchange fees that credit card companies like Visa and MasterCard set for retailers each time they process credit card transactions.
The bill is expected to reduce the fees or make them fairer through enabling businesses to negotiate them with the companies. For the time being, the interchange fee rates are set as non-negotiable, boosting the companies' annual revenues by billions of dollars and draining retailers and customers' wallets.
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Credit Card Account Fraud
[05:21:32 AM Wednesday, June 11, 2008]
Millions of US customers, especially those who own active credit card accounts, have turned to LifeLock to make sure their ID and credit data are properly protected. With today's increasing instances of ID theft and fraudulent credit card use, consumers are ready to do and pay whatever required to stay on the safe side.
LifeLock, an ID theft protection services company, ensures that it can not only deal with the destroying effects of an ID thief's activity but that it can efficiently prevent any possible intrusions into an individual's credit and other personal information file. Let's see what services the company offers today and what drawbacks if any might be detected in their system.
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Buying Gas on Credit
[04:42:37 AM Monday, June 16, 2008]
Gas prices are hitting their records, arousing consumers' anxiety and clearing out their pockets. Most of us tend to blame station owners, but in fact these guys happen to incur great losses of profit, too. At first sight, the situation might seem vague and even illogical but at a closer inspection we are able to single out a certain pattern of making and processing gas purchases.
Gas prices are rising due to the more expensive oil, and gas station owners just have to comply with the market laws to survive and make profit for further development. So, they do charge more for a gallon. And this is a rather lucrative field for credit companies to pick up revenues.
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Credit Limits Trimmed
[04:42:33 AM Thursday, June 26, 2008]
Lots of credit consumers, with good and bad payment histories alike, have got a hit from major card issuers which keep developing new strategies to avoid further credit losses. The new painful technique involves drastically cutting customers' credit limits without a notice, as required by the law.
We needn't bother our heads trying to see the companies' ground to resort to such an uncool measure. The easy credit offered in the mail and online and advertised on radio and TV has led to a killing amount of consumer debt which hurts not only customers, but issuers themselves, lots of other financial institutions, slackening the pace of the US economy development. What does the new protective measure threaten consumers with?
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Credit Delinquencies Drop
[03:54:22 AM Monday, June 30, 2008]
At long last! We've lived to see some mitigation in the American credit card lending industry, as is reported by a major national credit bureau TransUnion. Not so long ago, its analysis of the US credit industry trends in 2008 depressed all of us by its deplorable results. Namely, the agency forecast that national credit delinquency rates (the rate of borrowers that are 90 or more days past due with their credit card payments) and average credit card debt per borrower would continue increasing, pulling US consumers further down into unmanageable obligations.
The new analysis allows us to hope for and, actually, expect some improvement of the situation. Is it the fist in many years sign that US consumers will have a real sigh of relief?
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Best Travel Credit Cards
[05:40:41 AM Monday, July 07, 2008]
With ever-increasing living costs, and record gas prices, customers have to scale back sweet thoughts about family summer vacation. However, being members of some rewards credit program, cardholders may not even realize that they have a fantastic tool that can easily become a source of funding for the next vacation, i.e. their rewards credit cards, or to be more exact travel cards.
A recent survey among credit card users has shown that an average American happens to be a member of multiple customer loyalty programs with overwhelming majority of credit rewards programs. Weird as it may seem, but you may plan your perfect vacation with the help of small shiny plastics in case they give you good travel rewards.
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Importance of Credit Score
[04:32:21 AM Monday, July 14, 2008]
A credit score is a three-digit number that predetermines success or failure in our financial lives. According to an annual survey conducted by WaMu and the Consumer Federation of America, consumer awareness of credit score has increased over the past year, though it still leaves much to be desired.
Interestingly, by raising their credit scores by 30 points, customers could save approximately $100 on credit charges annually. Meantime, annual saving could amount to $28 billion, as financial institutions provide better credit products to people with higher credit scores. Read more about this.
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Credit Cards eZine
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Credit Card Insurance
If you travel a lot, you must be in the habit of renting a car. A rental agency may offer you an additional insurance coverage which you make haste to buy. But do you really need these extra expenses if you've taken a credit card with you? If you have a Visa/MasterCard, American Express or Discover Card, you can be assured of being covered in case you get in an accident while driving a rental.
But maybe not. Banks and card companies recommend you compare different policies before making application. Policies vary in who is insured, the level of insurance and in what vehicle, when and where it requires coverage. With inadequate credit card rental car insurance, you may incur unforeseen costs. So, do find what coverage your card offers and what is required of you to qualify for it.
Click here to read more...
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Balance Transfers
Balance transfers applications are widely used among cardholders who don't pay bills in full each month. Minimum monthly payments constitute only a portion of credit you owe to the bank, the rest piling up into a fat debt. When the interest rate is high and the balance is growing, you start thinking of moving it onto a better credit card. But it might be next to impossible if you do not have the credit rating required by the issuer. Some people cope with the debt by getting into a debt management plan or filing for bankruptcy even. That's because they do not know of a rarely used trick - transferring your balances onto another person's credit card. While promising relief from debt, this trick hides lots of traps and threatens to damage both, your and that person's good credit.
Click here to read more...
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Secured Credit Cards
Credit card nation - that's what Americans are called for their addiction to and overuse of plastic money. But with such a huge number of credit consumers, still many have not a slightest idea where to go and what to do to obtain their fist plastic and start building payment history with banks.
Major Banks do not feel comfortable about unsecured lending to people without any credit references. And if you do not get a credit line you cannot grow those references. That's' where the catch is, so you actually have to find an institution who'll agree to work with you as a beginner. A secured credit card is easily issued to beginners and is the best tool to establish positive payment references so important for your borrowing abilities in the future.
Click here to read more...
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Credit Report Check
The increased delinquencies rates and stressed lending industry made banks more choosy and careful accepting new applications. The essential point for the bank's approval/denial decision is still the customer's credit score contained in his/her credit report. The three-digit expression of your creditworthiness plays a factor when you take out any loan and apply for a plastic card. The better the score, the better the card rates as usual.
You may have heard that ordering credit report, which is essential to do if plan to apply for a loan, may lower your score. That sounds as if you shouldn't have any credit report checks to preserve a good FICO score. While this is true, there are some exceptions.
Click here to read more...
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Frequent Flyer Miles
Back to April, 2008, Delta Airlines and American Express launched an application for the first really elite frequent flyer credit card with a solid annual fee of $450 and exclusive travel rewards. At that time, Delta Reserve Credit Card put the value of rewards front and center, delivering big spenders great miles called as elite-qualifying miles, or EQM. Its basic rewards scheme offered miles bonuses after making the first purchase as well as after reaching a certain spending target.
The major feature distinguishing this exclusive Amex travel rewards card from other airline affinity offers is the ability to accumulate bonus miles redeemable for the elite flyer status. Typically, this feature proved to be valuable only for customers who used the card to finance Delta flights in the first place and spent $30,000 annually.
Click here to read more...
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