Archive for the ‘Credit Cards’ Category

Lenders Lower Fees to Improve Relations

February 1st, 2011 Ryan Parker No Comments »

The Card Act of 2009 is expected to reduce bank income by $11 billion in 2011, and the Federal Reserve has been authorized to limit debit card fees that will cost $13 billion more in lost revenue to lenders and banks. The imposition of these tough restrictions on how fees can be charged has forced some changes by lenders that have hurt their relationship with cardholders. For example, interest rates have risen an estimated 3% since 2008. But no matter what the rationale for rate increases, consumers struggling to make ends meet can’t understand being charged for services that were once free.

In an effort to repair the damage, some of the major credit card lenders are beginning to lower or even eliminate some of their fees.

  • Bank of America and Wells Fargo have stopped levying penalty interest rates for late credit card payments.
  • Citibank and American Express announced the elimination of foreign transaction fees on some of their cards.
  • Bank of America waived late fees on accounts with balances of $100 or less.

The overall climate for borrowers is excellent for those who have pristine credit records. The

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Tags: Fees, Fees Improve

Ask Creditnet: Credit Card Use on a Fluctuating Income

January 28th, 2011 Ryan Parker No Comments »

Dear Creditnet: I need some expert advice. My credit score is in the low to mid 500′s…sad i know!

I have 7 credit cards that I use all the time, but they have low limits under $1,000. My work is commission only too, which often causes me to make late payments and then get hit with big fees.

How can I better manage my credit cards and improve my credit scores?

Answer: Since your work is commission only and it sounds like you experience fluctuating income from month to month, I wouldn’t recommend using credit cards for all your daily expenses at this point. At least not until you have enough saved in the bank to cover several month’s worth of purchases.

An important part of responsible credit card use is to treat your card like cash. That me

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Tags: Credit Card, Use

Top 10 Credit Cards for Students

January 23rd, 2011 Ryan Parker No Comments »

We’ve all heard the horror stories. In fact, you’re sure to know a handful of friends or relatives who’ve racked up an eye-popping amount of credit card debt while in school, and now they’re paying dearly for it.

As a college student, you may be feeling as though you don’t want to get involved with credit cards at all. And while there’s a good case to be made for avoiding credit cards at a time in your life when you might be especially tempted to rack up debt, there are also many advantages to using credit cards wisely during the college years.

If you’re responsible with your credit card by paying off the balance in full and on time each month, then you’ll be able to quickly build a great credit history before you even get out of school.  Then, when the

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Tags: 10 Credit, Credit

Credit card fraud hits a quarter of UK adults

January 21st, 2011 Ryan Parker No Comments »

Credit card fraud has affected a quarter of adults in the UK, a new report has claimed. The annual Card Fraud Index published by life assistance company CPP found that 13 million people have now been hit by card fraud, although 2010 did see a three per cent drop in the number of card fraud incidences.

The study revealed that Brighton was the worst affected area of the UK for credit card fraud, with 38 per cent admitting that they had been a victim, followed by London with 34 per cent, Manchester with 33 per cent, Bristol and Leeds with 32 per cent and Edinburgh having 31 per cent. Full Article

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Tags: Adults, Card Fraud, Credit Card, Credit Card Fraud

Free Checking: Another One Bites the Dust

January 18th, 2011 Ryan Parker No Comments »

I’ve had a free checking account with WAMU (now Chase) since 2004. And while I’ve never used it as my primary checking account, I did maintain a decent balance while running several transactions through it each month. Frankly, it was just nice to have around when I needed it, and I probably would’ve never thought about closing my account had it not been for a letter I received from Chase a few weeks ago.

Apparently Chase, as we’ve seen with many other large banks like Wells Fargo and Bank of America, is ditching the old WAMU slogan – “Home of Free Checking” – and adding a $10 monthly fee to my account effective February 1st. The nerve! This is just absolute craziness to me. I’ve never paid a monthly fee for a checking account in my entire life. It just goes agai

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Tags: Checking, Free Checking

Ask Creditnet: Beacon vs. FICO Scores

January 13th, 2011 Ryan Parker No Comments »

Dear Creditnet: I recently applied for a home loan and was completely caught off guard by my credit score.

I subscribe to a credit monitoring service, so I thought I knew my scores before I began the application process. Boy was I wrong!

I thought my Equifax credit score was 668, but the score my banker pulled was 618. He told me they use the Equifax Beacon 5.0, so why is there such a difference? They’re the same scores, right? Unfortunately, this 50 point swing is costing me an extra 1.5% in interest. Ouch!

Answer: There are a lot of credit scores out there. That’s why it’s so important for consumers to understand what credit scores actually matter before they begin the application process.

In your case, the Beacon 5.0 that was pulled by your lender is your Equifax-based FICO score. That’s

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Tags: Fico Scores, Scores

Retailers Say Stay-At-Home Moms Affected

January 9th, 2011 Ryan Parker No Comments »

Stay-at-home moms will be an unintended target, if one of the recent proposals by the Federal Reserve goes into affect. Merchants and retailers are not happy with the proposed law either as it would require credit card issuers to consider only the income of the actual borrower and not consider other household income. The new rule would apply to new credit card accounts and requests for credit limit increases on existing accounts.

According to David Jaffe, president and CEO of Dress Barn, a specialty store for women and young girls, the proposed rule “would unfairly restrict the ability of many consumers, particularly women not working outside the home, to qualify for credit.” Under the proposed rule, if a customer with no income requested credit on the spot, he or she wouldn’t qualify for it unless a higher-earning spouse applied jointly for the account.

The suggested measure is “intended to enhance protections for consumers and to resolve areas of uncertainty so that card issuers fully understand their compliance obligations,” according to the Fed proposal. But Dress

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Tags: Moms, Moms Affected

When It Comes to Kids and Credit, Is Plastic Ever a Good Idea?

December 23rd, 2010 Ryan Parker No Comments »

We’ve watched the quick rise and fall of the Kardashian Kard, a prepaid credit card that was promoted by the Kardashian sisters, only to be pulled from the market after a few short weeks. So why was this card considered  to be predatory, and even when dealing with legitimate credit products, is it ever a good idea to allow type of card–or even a standard credit card–to be used by children? If so, how young is too young?

Why the Kardashian Kard Was Considered Predatory

The Kardashian Kard was a prepaid card that was expected to gain fast popularity among a younger demographic . However, before it could take off, it was quickly pulled from the market.

One reason was because parents did not like that it came with excessive fees. It cos

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Tags: Credit, Credit Plastic
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