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Living with credit (95)
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New, interesting products (35)
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Research, regulation, industry reports (95)
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Rewards (10)
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Protecting yourself (45)
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The fine print (14)
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Credit card miscellany (78)
The fine print
When you comparison shop for credit cards, go beyond looking at teaser rates and rewards, and include looking at default rates. Because, sometimes, when you least expect it, Paula happens.
The Wall Street Journal reported that an appeals court on Friday reinstated a 2005 lawsuit charging some of the leading U.S. credit card issuers with breaking the law by forcing credit card users to sign away their right to bring complaints to court by including arbitration-only clauses in cardholder contracts.
It's official. More regulation is coming this spring from the Federal Reserve to improve disclosures and outlaw some credit card industry practices.
Credit card industry forum hosted by the Federal Reserve Board yields promise of new rules.
Recent Federal Reserve interest rate cuts won't completely trickle down to everyday consumers. Ours will be modest cuts -- if any at all.
The "Credit Cardholders Bill of Rights" bill got a first hearing in the House Thursday, and it doesn't bode well for an industry that says it needs no additional oversight to have the overseers recount personal tales of how they got stiffed by their credit card issuer.
Chase ends practice of raising interest rates based on credit scores of cardholders.
Credit card issuers' reliance on fees edged up another notch in 2007, according to the annual profit/loss estimate put out by respected credit card industry analyst and investment banker R.K. Hammer.
In two New England states, there's a struggle under way over gift card funds. A Dec. 20 warning to consumers from New Hampshire's Attorney General shined a spotlight on retailers who are trying to bypass the state's gift card rules. Meanwhile, the neighboring state of Maine is using its unclaimed property law to demand a portion of the funds left on dormant gift cards.
The New Year brings a new federal regulation that will help prevent more telemarketers from pestering you with offers during the dinner hour at home, spamming your email boxes or clogging your home mailbox with junk mail.
What really happens to people who take out payday loans...
I have 18,675 World Points on my TexasExes Bank of America rewards card, which I got for being a TexasEx via a telemarketer to alumni. The card had a low interest rate at first, but it's popped into the stratosphere. (Don't ask.) I really want to get rid of that interest rate, and will be calling Money Management International soon for help in getting it slashed. That will mean closing the account, so I might as well redeem the points first.
What time is your credit card payment due? Yes, not what date is it due (though that, of course, is important). But do you know the cut-off time your credit card company sets for processing payments? For many credit card...
While consumers are dreaming of a white Christmas, retailers are thinking black -- as in a profitable holiday shopping season. But if a recent item from CNNMoney.com is correct, the second Federal Reserve interest rate cut of 2007 may not be enough to give retailers the sales lift they need this year.
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About
Credit card rules change all the time -- and it's not always easy to understand without a lawyer and a magnifying glass. We translate the arcane and watch for the trends.
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