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Credit Card Blog
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Credit Card Blog & Article AreaBe A Smart Credit Card UserBlog Post Date: Feb 25 2010
Be A Smart Credit Card User
•Read the terms and conditions of your card. "The Credit Card Act is there to protect consumers," said Bruce McClary, ClearPoint Credit Counseling Solutions spokesman. "But the responsibility is still in the hands of the consumer to make certain they understand everything." Also study the terms and conditions to understand what type of card you have, such as fixed-rate vs variable, because the rules governing them are different. •Pay your credit card balance every month, if possible. You’ll avoid incurring interest. If you carry a balance, you'll get a stiff financial penalty every month -- the annual percentage rate. Do not use a credit card if its rate has been increased and yor’re not willing to pay that rate. Put it away and pay it down monthly at the current rate. •Shop around. Compare cards at sites like LowCards.com, Bankrate.com and CreditCards.com. Search for the lowest rates and fees and the best terms. Consider acquiring a credit union card. They are required to comply with the Credit Card Act, too. And their terms and rates may be better. •Pay all your lenders on time every time. You'll prevent rate and fee increases, as well as drops in your credit score. Manage at least the minimum payments. You want your card balances to be as low as possible. Better yet, pay them down to none and use them as monthly charge cards. Call and request a lower interest rate. Your card issuer may do so if you have a good history of paying balances on time and relationship with them. Iris Taylor VIA TimesDispatch Keyword: Credit Card
Articles from February 2010 Terms Of The New Credit Cards RegulationsBlog Post Date: Feb 25 2010
CREDIT CARD ACT
TERMS OF THE NEW CREDIT CARDS REGULATIONS 10 things that credit-card issuers can still perform with proper notice: * Alter your fixed-rate card to variable. * Increase your Annual Percentage Rate on future purchases. * Raise your variable rate without notice because it’s pegged to an index that went higher. * Charge an annual fee on a card that didn’t have one. * Lessen your rewards benefits. * Raise the amount of existing fees. * Charge you with an inactivity fee if you do not use the card enough. * Present a new card product at whatever rate and terms they want. * Terminate your account. * Set your card limit lower. Source: Consumer Action LOTS OF PLASTIC The top ten credit-card issuers and their total current balances as of June 30: 1. Chase -- $165.87 billion 2. Bank of America -- $150.82 billion 3. Citi -- $102.54 billion 4. American Express -- $78.16 billion 5. Capital One -- $55.46 billion 6. Discover -- $48.90 billion 7. Wells Fargo -- $30.89 billion 8. HSBC -- $26.09 billion 9. U.S. Bank -- $20.17 billion 10. USAA Savings -- $12.96 billion Source: CreditCards.com and The Nilson Report VIA Times Dispatch Keyword: Credit Card
Articles from February 2010 CREDIT CARD TRICKS Take Out CashBlog Post Date: Feb 25 2010
CREDIT CARD TRICKS
By Kate Mansey 50 percent extra to take out cash Credit card companies are utilizing crafty tricks to rip off customers - as shock numbers show Britons owe £54.5 billion to our "flexible friends". A Sunday Mirror investigation showed some consumers can end up paying up to £150 for each £100 of card debt. Firms add underhanded charges, fees and penalties to bills, send out credit card cheques at higher rates - and increase credit limits without your agreement. Money expert James Daley said: "They encourage debt. MBNA roll out letters advertising a service to transfer cash from your credit card to your current account, making it seem like a good idea - when, in fact, there will be a much higher rate of interest on that debt." Peter Harrison, credit card expert at Moneysupermarket.com, said: "A late payment will have a covered fee of £12, which does not sound bad, but late payment could mean your promotional interest rate is gone." Vanquis, which offers cards to people with poor credit history, charges up to 50% interest for cash advances - and even Barclaycard charges 27.9% to use its credit card cheques. It was revealed this week that credit cards now charge an average 18.8 percent interest, while the Bank of England base rate remains at a 300-year low of 0.5 percent. The bank figures released this month revealed we currently owe £54.5billion on our cards. Angry consumer groups want more transparent rules on card costs. Marc Gander of the Consumer Action Group said: "We've seen a large number of people in trouble thanks to credit card tricks. People get into debt then find they are stung for much more interest than they expected. It's disgraceful." How to beat big charges Pay at least the minimum payments or you could lose your promotional interest rate.If you have paid off a credit card make sure you cancel it or it could impact your credit rating. It's good to shop around; transfer a big balance to a card with an interest-free rate. But don't move and change too much as it could affect your credit rating. If transferring a debt, make sure the card has the same low rate for purchases - or get another card that does. Don't make a cheque from a credit card - you'll get a cheaper interest rate with a bank loan. VIA Mirror News Keyword: Credit Card
Articles from February 2010 Build Good Credit Without Credit CardsBlog Post Date: Feb 23 2010
Build Good Credit Without Credit Cards
When you are trying to build a good credit history, one often repeated piece of advice is to get a couple of credit cards and pay them off promptly. Credit cards are not the only way to skin the credit cat, though. Not everyone likes the idea of carrying around plastics in the first place, much less using them just to build a good credit history. If credit cards are not your cup of tea, take look at some of the other options recommended by finance blog Suburban Dollar: Borrow from Yourself – This is the most convenient method to establish your own credit history without a credit card. Purchase a Certificate of Deposit (CD) from a bank. Then take out a secured loan against the CD for the same period of time. Put the cash you borrowed in a high-yield checking account. Then use the cash you borrowed to payback the secured loan. You will be establishing a credit history, plus earning interest on your checking account and CD. There are some disadvantages to this method. You need the starting capital to back up the CD. You could be paying more interest on the secured loan than earning through your CD and checking account in the end; however, it is probably less than what you would pay in fees and interest if you used a credit card. Just make sure to weigh the true costs before venturing this way. We have discussed before ways to safely build your credit history and how to get credit when you have no history at all. What things have you done to improve or build good credit without getting credit cards—or are you perfectly happy with your credit card? VIA LIfeHacker
Articles from February 2010 Interest Rate Summary Credit CardsBlog Post Date: Feb 23 2010
Interest Rate Summary Credit Cards
Here is a look at the state of credit card rates from the weekly national survey of large banks and thrifts conducted Feb. 17, 2010 by Bankrate.com Rates: 13.39% (all fixed); 13.63% (all variable) Credit card interest rate averages stayed flat within the week. The average fixed rate for purchases with your standard, gold, and platinum cards kept to 13.39% and the mean variable rate remained 13.63%. One issuer in our weekly survey, the Suncoast Schools Federal Credit Union, stopped charging its $25 overlimit fee. New research from the Pew Safe Credit Cards Project shows that the interest rate restrictions included in the 2nd phase of the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure, or CARD,-Act of 2009, which will take effect on Monday, will save the consumers a minimum of $10 billion per year. The 3rd round of provisions rolls out on Aug. 22, 2010, including gift card protections and a requirement that the penalty fees be "reasonable and proportional." You can find your best credit card deal at Bankrate's interactive tool. -- Leslie McFadden VIA bankrate
Articles from February 2010 Clouds Parting Over Credit Card TroublesBlog Post Date: Feb 21 2010
Clouds Parting Over Credit Card Troubles
Kelsey Swanekamp, With joblessness still hovering at 10 percent and household budget under pressure, credit card issuers and lenders are still taking profits from their loans to consumers. Developments in delinquency figures could signal that lesser numbers of credit card defaults are ahead though, even as net charge-offs increased to 10.5 percent in January. The figure is not too far below the August peak of 10.8 percent, but in a more encouraging bit of data delinquency rates, a measure used by credit card companies to crystal ball future defaults, decreased to 5.8 percent and the dollar amount of those delinquencies also fell, leading some to speculate that fewer charge-offs are ahead. "Barring a spike in bankruptcies or another leg up in joblessness, we continue to anticipate an industry cycle peak" to occur in the first quarter of 2010. Wednesday, Citigroup analyst Donald Fandetti wrote in a note. Citigroup has a positive outloook on card issuer stocks, Fandetti said, reprising a buy on American Express ( AXP - news - people ) and Capital One Financial ( COF - news - people ). Fandetti also advised buying the stocks on any fallback. The recent data from individual firms was the backbone of Citi's positive view. Bank of America ( BAC - news - people ) saw a slide in both net charge-offs and delinquency rates. U.S. largest lender disclosed that late payments fell to the lowest level in a year--7.4 percent in January. Write-offs of uncollectible loans also declined, to 13.3 percent from 13.5 percent. VIA Forbes keyword: credit card
Articles from February 2010 Credit Card Chargeoffs Still TroublingBlog Post Date: Feb 21 2010
Credit Card Charge-Offs Still Troubling
February 17, 2010 by Staff Credit card charge-offs – or loans assumed uncollectible and written off – edged higher in January as reported by the major card issuers, although there is some positive expectation in the stabilizing of delinquency rates. Delinquencies are the accounts running 30-days late . It is generally a precursor of bad loans to come. Several major card issuers either reported modest decline or little change in the delinquency rates for January compared with December. But for now, the credit card issuers are stuck in write-offs as they face the possibility of reduced revenues from landmark restrictions on interest rate hikes and some charges taking effect on Monday. The top general-purpose card issuer, JPMorgan Chase, said it wrote off 10.91% of credit-card loans last month, up from 7.11% in December. Chase reported last month that it forecasted a jump in write-offs based on a “payment holiday” offered to customers in the first half of 2009, which pushed defaults in the 4th quarter down – and now are bouncing back up. Citigroup wrote off 9.8%, up from 9.56% in December. Bank of America again had the highest write-off rate with 13.25% in January, but it was lower than its December rate of 13.53%. Capital One said charge-offs in its household credit-card unit climbed to 10.41% in January from 10.14% the previous month. American Express, typically the most common card used for purchases, still holds the most robust outlook among its competitors with a 7% write-off rate, compared to 7.1% in December. Discover declared charge-offs in January at 8.58% of credit-card loans, down from 8.68% the previous month. VIA eCredit Daily Keyword: Credit Card
Articles from February 2010 Do You Rely On Your Credit Card?Blog Post Date: Feb 21 2010
Do you rely on your credit card?
Do you put every purchase on the plastic? Find out how to bring your credit cards back under control. One in five of us possessed more than 1 credit cards and 17% of cardholders use their card at least once in a day. In total, more than 14M people rely on credit, rather than cash or debit cards for their daily living expenses. And this could post a problem. "It's alarming to see that so many people are relying on credit to pay for everyday expenses as this can be a dangerous habit to get into," said Peter Harrison, Moneysupermarket.com credit cards expert. "If you are paying everyday items such as petrol or food and still paying for it long after the product has been used, you should seriously consider stopping." With several of providers hiking the annual percentage rate (APR) their cards charge, it could well be time to practice not relying on the plastic. Some Capital One credit card users have recently been told the interest rate they're charged will be going up from 8.01 percent to 15.31 percent - almost double of what they pay - while the rate on Barclaycard's Platinum Simplicity rose by 1 percent to 7.8 percent, and MBNA raised the APR on its Platinum and Platinum Rewards cards to 16.9 percent. VIA For tips on how to use credit card wisely, click here! Keyword: Credit Cards
Articles from February 2010 Don T Feed The Debt Monster Slay ItBlog Post Date: Feb 21 2010
Don't feed the debt monster - slay it
By Dale Jackson There's a new mode sweeping the US and it seems that Canada is catching up - people are laying off their credit cards and paying down debt. In 2009 domestic purchases south of the border dropped 0.6%, the biggest decrease since 1974. According to the U.S. Federal Reserve, outstanding consumer debt declined with a record 8.5% last November. Credit card debt led the way, declining for the 14th consecutive month. "Americans may be responding to huge losses on their houses, so they are reluctant to add to debt and are motivated to start saving again," CIBC chief economist Avery Shenfeld says. Canadians are less excited about paying down debt because we are not as heavily leveraged, he says, but there are signs we are controlling our spending. The latest CIBC report shows growth in the domestic mortgage market shrunk to 7.8% from 12% a year earlier. "We are still willing to take on more debt given how low the cost of servicing those debts are," Mr. Shenfeld says. Regardless, our new-found puritanism may be too late: North American consumers are choking under a mountain of debt. The average amount owed on a credit card is $5,600 usd, the average American carries $46,000 usd in total debt and 1 in 7 U.S. mortgages are delinquent or in arrears. VIA Keyword: credit card
Articles from February 2010 Four Perspectives On Credit Card DefaultsBlog Post Date: Feb 17 2010
Four Perspectives on Credit Card Defaults
By Damien Hoffman Editor-in-Chief, Wall St. Cheat Sheet In Forbes's "Credit Card Defaults Decrease, But Long Road Ahead," the Bank of America (BAC), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), American Express (AXP) and Capital One (COF) offered a diversed look at credit card debt. The Bank of America net charge offs (this is the percentage of loans predicted to default) dropped to 13.3 percent from 13.5 percent and American Express's net charge offs dropped from 7.1 percent to 7 percent. On the other side, Capital One reported an increase in net charge offs from 10.14 percent to 10.4 percent, while JP Morgan's net charge offs skyrocketed from 7.11 percent to 10.91 percent. Although shares of these stocks are surging, that's still a lot of deadbeats to get excited about. VIA Huffington Post Keyword: Credit cards
Articles from February 2010 |
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