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Living with credit (130)
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New, interesting products (48)
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Research, regulation, industry reports (139)
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Rewards (16)
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Protecting yourself (73)
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The fine print (25)
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Credit card miscellany (125)
February 2008 Archives
Wacky Jim Cramer, the TV stock analyst/madman, has incendiary advice for consumers that involves matches and their credit cards.
Charge-off rates on credit card loans are inching up, but they aren't quite at the level they were six years ago.
Originally, text messages were used to send notes to friends while stuck in class or to tell someone something brief. Then they became a way to vote in reality television hits and win prizes with game shows. More recently, as my colleague Connie Prater reported in a blog, debt collectors are beginning to e-mail and text debtors who dodge phone calls. Now, the most recent group behind text messaging: identity thieves.
Americans love the convenience of shopping online, but many still get a twinge of nervousness when typing that credit card number into the computer, and those who have the least harbor the most fear.
Early next year, MasterCard and NJ Transit expect to start an eight-month test that allows riders to pay their fares on PATH trains (which connect Manhattan and neighboring New Jersey) and two NJ Transit bus lines with contactless bank cards, key fobs, cell phones and other devices.
Do you owe money? Should debt collectors be able to e-mail, text or IM consumers about paying their financial obligations?
Impulse shopping with credit cards often leads to wasted money, especially if you neglect to return the items you won't use or don't fit in time. People who feel reassured that they can always sell unwanted items for money on eBay or at stores like Buffalo Exchange or Half Price Books may be in for a surprise. I sure was.
BlueHippo Funding, LLC and BlueHippo Capital LLC, owe up to $5 million for consumer redress to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that the firms broke federal laws.
Some small business borrowers look to be among those experiencing lowered credit limits. In a post on The Vest Pocket Consultant, Rosalind Resnick shares the story of small business owner Michelle Wood, whose American Express credit line was slashed by $10,000 because her handbag company, Lil’ Diva Enterprises, was not registered with business information provider Dunn & Bradstreet.
A person’s identity -- including a U.S. bank account, credit card, date of birth and government issued identification number -- can be bought for about $10.
The Center for American Progress says a credit card safety rating system -- similar to crash test ratings for cars -- would help consumers see which credit cards would give their finances the biggest dings.
One credit card for Hooters and another for gambling with cash advances. Let's explore the fun and fine print-filled world of sinful credit cards.
The Federal Reserve today released the minutes from its most recent meeting on Jan. 29-30 (there is always a lag between the central bank's monetary policy decisions and the release of the minutes that accompany those decisions). Those minutes suggested that the Fed continued to see risks to the economy, even after it trimmed interest rates to their lowest level since June 2005.
Credit card solicitations in the mail greatly declined in the last quarter of 2007. The mortgage crisis and faltering economy have caused creditors to become more selective in who they target for direct marketing, and have saved trees in the process.
British issuers Barclaycard and Egg have decided they would rather drop certain cardholders altogether than let them hang around and pose a repayment risk -- even if the cardholders' had nothing in their credit report to suggest they were a danger.
What's hotter on the market than the "War kittens" credit card? One that will help fans of over-the-air TV keep using their rabbit ears a bit longer.
Earlier this week, the Federal Trade Commission unveiled its list of leading consumer fraud complaints for 2007. Topping the FTC's complaint list for the seventh-straight year: identity theft.
To those who don't think they need credit or don't think their credit matters much, let me prove you wrong. Credit is used in so many facets of life. Having no credit or bad credit isn't that different, since either situation can put a serious damper on more than just your finances.
Are you crazy for Barack? Are you rooting for Hillary? Are you counting on McCain? Do you "heart" Huckabee? It’s quick and easy to support your favorite presidential candidate with your credit card.
Concerned consumers, breathe a sigh of relief: A report released yesterday by Javelin Strategy & Research reveals that identity fraud is on the decline in most of America. It also reinforces a three-year trend that the majority of information stolen by criminals is taken from personal belongings and phone calls -- not online.
Think you know what your date wants for Valentine's Day? Discover Card's third annual Valentine's Day Shopping Survey exposes what lovebirds are planning to buy and hoping to receive this Feb. 14. Also, several ways to have an inexpensive celebration.
According to a study released Friday, sadness and overspending tend to go hand-in-tissue-holding-hand.
House Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee Chairwoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) today introduced the “Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights Act of 2008” (H.R. 5244), "comprehensive credit card reform legislation aimed at leveling the playing field between credit card companies and consumers."
An American Express survey was announced this morning revealing that Americans are striving equally for both physical and financial fitness in 2008. Between the obesity epidemic and the credit crunch, I think this is great news.
A new initiative in New York City aims to curb cabbies who refuse to take credit cards, choose to yammer away on a cell phone while driving and decide to overlook traffic laws, reports the UK's Telegraph.
According to myriad economic experts, our economy is slipping into a recession, or may already be in one. Most of us are feeling the pinch. Here is some of the best advice I've found from fellow bloggers on cutting back during hard times.
Believe it or not, more celebrity credit card drama has unfolded overnight. Sonja Norwood, mother of singer/actress Brandy, filed a lawsuit on Feb. 4 in the L.A. County Superior Court against the Kardashian family for credit card misuse.
Anyone who thinks Americans aren't worried about their health insurance should think again. Many are very worried that the next illness will send them into bankruptcy.
Please weigh in with the most wild or ridiculous charges you have ever heard of being put on a corporate credit card. I'll share the best responses in a future posting.
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They're the pieces of plastic we love, and love to hate. Get the latest news, tips, research and more from the CreditCards.com staff.
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