Personal Finance and Money Management

Direct mail industry sources report that credit card companies, after keeping a low profile for more than a year, are actively looking for new customers. Marketing campaigns by three major credit card issuers, Chase, Citi and American Express, surged from a mere 551 million offers in 2009 to an impressive 1.4 billion in 2010, according to the research firm Mintel Comperemedia. Another source, Synovate’s Mail Monitor, reports worldwide credit card solicitations at 2.73 billion, a 96% increase over 2009.

And the first quarter of 2011 is showing even more positive signs of resurgence in credit cards with an increase of more than 481 million household offers, representing a 29% increase over that in 2009, according to the Mail Monitor. L

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Citibank finally “got the memo”—credit card users hate fees!

In response they’ve given us the Citi Simplicity card, which is definitely the best credit card on the market right now if you have a severe aversion to fees and like to keep your finances simple.

Here are my top 4 things to love about the Citi Simplicity card:

No annual fee. No late payment fee. No over-the-limit fee. Are you getting the picture?

After reading the fine print, it looks as though the only fees Citi hasn’t ditched yet are a 3% balance transfer fee, 5% cash advance fee, and a $35 returned payment fee.

0% interest on purchases and balance transfers for 21 months places the Simplicity card among the top tier of 0% interest credit card offers.  If you’v

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With no buyers coming forward so far, HSBC chief executive Stuart Gulliver announced that the credit card unit of HSBC Holdings, one of the top 10 financial organizations in the U.S. providing MasterCard and Visa credit cards, could be terminated. The $33 billion portfolio is just one of five key areas the company serves – personal and consumer finance, commercial and private banking and corporate investment banking and financial markets.

Although their credit card unit continues to be profitable, the CEO stated that the “card business wasn’t a strategic fit for HSBC.” Plans to divest are being hampered by the immense size of the credit card portfolio. Gullive

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It’s been awhile since I’ve posted a big list of credit card bonuses in one place, so… Here’s a list of five cards that will get you $1600 (or more) in signup bonuses. In all but one case, there’s either no annual fee, or the fee is waived for the first year.

Yes, there are spending requirements, so you’ll have to plan ahead, but… There’s a ton of cash on the table if you’re willing to jump through some hoops.

Ready? Here we go…

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