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Jeremy SimonAs a full-time staff reporter at CreditCards.com, my writing focuses on the payment card and debt trends impacting consumers. After graduating from Vassar College with a bachelor's degree in English and just one economics class under my belt, I gained a real world education in business and finance over several years spent working for Thomson Financial in New York, where I wrote on U.S. and foreign equity markets...
A recent AskMen.com poll found that the typical modern man has few credit cards and even less debt, with the cash saved on interest charges apparently going toward his goal of $1 million in retirement savings.
You'll need to act fast if you'd like to sign up for the free TransUnion credit monitoring offered as part of a 2007 settlement involving the credit bureau. The cutoff for submission of an authentication form is tomorrow.
Gift cards may not provide the same level of protection as credit cards and debit cards, but gift card users are not left completely unguarded, according to a report released this month by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
The new downtown branch of People's Trust Federal Credit Union in that Texas city has opted to forego loose change. Consumers who plan to cash a check in an uneven dollar amount will not get any coins back. Instead, they can either choose to deposit their change into an account or make a charitable contribution to the credit union's foundation for first time mortgage borrowers and financial education.
In the latest example of athletes, cards and crime, the combination of powder and plastic proved a troublesome cocktail for Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Matt Jones, who was arrested in Fayetteville, Ark. in the wee hours of Thursday morning on a felony drug charge.
Consumers remain largely uneducated about credit scoring. That's unfortunate, since a new survey suggests that by informing themselves and taking a few easy steps, borrowers could save billions of dollars each year.
The Philippines loves its text messages, which is exactly why credit card issuer Citi decided the country was the idea place to introduce the bank's new mobile phone banking. As of last Friday, Filipino cardholders can make credit card charges via text message or phone call.
Summer driving season is upon us, with gas prices and tempers both running high. To show their anger over credit card fees they say are boosting fuel costs and erasing profits, gas station owners are taking action.
The American Bankers Association has joined the chorus of voices warning that trouble in the economy is making life difficult for borrowers -- and pushing delinquencies higher.
Now is a bad time to be a credit card issuer and times are only going to get tougher, according to Fitch Ratings.
Visa announced yesterday that it is making changes to the way credit card and debit card transactions get processed at gas stations, potentially easing the pain high gas prices are causing both drivers and gas station owners.
Consumers awaiting final approval of the court settlement that will yield free TransUnion credit monitoring can sign up for discounted credit monitoring now, care of FICO score creator Fair Isaac. They'll need to act fast, though: Fair Isaac's 25 percent discount on its credit monitoring product is only available through the end of this month.
This afternoon, the Fed announced that it was leaving interest rates unchanged for the first time since last summer. The decision followed seven straight rate cuts that lowered the fed funds rate to 2 percent from 5.25 percent back in September 2007, as the central bank worked to keep a troubled U.S. economy afloat.
United States banks are busy promoting products and practices that (at first glance) seem to be good for both the earth and their customers. Paperless statements, credit cards that give back to the earth and special loans for hybrid vehicles are all available. However, a recent MarketWatch article expresses skepticism as to whether these "green" initiatives are in fact smart choices for consumers.
In the first three months of this year, both credit card debt and credit card delinquency fell, according to the latest quarterly credit card analysis from TransUnion. The major credit bureau is in an ideal place to spot credit card trends becuase it maintains a massive database of consumer debt records.
After some initial difficulty this morning, I signed up for six months of free credit monitoring as part of the class action settlement with credit bureau TransUnion.
Any old airline credit card can give you air miles. The Virgin Atlantic American Express Card offers airless miles. The newly launched card's rewards include the chance for space flight.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship's many fans will likely never get the opportunity to step into the ring to test their mixed martial arts skills against combat stars like Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell or Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. For their personal well-being, that's probably a good thing. Soon enough, however, UFC enthusiasts will get to take a piece of the sport everywhere they go in the form of the new UFC Visa Card from U.S. Bank.
Bananarama, Don Henley and DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince can all be found at the 156th Carnival of Personal Finance hosted by Prime Time Money. So can I.
Under the terms of a settlement reached last year, even more consumers could find themselves eligible for free email alerts and unlimited access to their TransUnion credit reports and credit scores, provided they act before July 22.
College basketball star O.J. Mayo may have enjoyed thousands of dollars in perks, including a hotel room the former University of Southern California freshman guard shared with a girlfriend, clothes, meals at Los Angeles eateries and a flat-screen television -- all paid for with the credit card issued to a nonprofit organization.
Illegal drug operations, terrorist groups and other criminal enterprises use money laundering to hide the movement of their funds. So after reading in the Wall Street Journal that the Supreme Court today ruled against the government in two distinct money laundering cases, my concern was that it may become harder for authorities to target terrorists and other criminals for prosecution.
Further details have emerged about what consumers stand to gain from the settlement of a class action lawsuit against credit reporting giant TransUnion. The details revolve around the words "millions" and "billions."
Millions of consumers will soon be eligible for free credit monitoring for nine months as the result of a class action lawsuit tentative settlement announced today.
Dads shouldn't expect much this Father's Day, but those who are getting something should expect gift cards. That's the finding reported by Brand Keys, a brand and customer loyalty consultancy based in New York. According to the results of a consumer study, while dads usually get less on their designated day than moms do, fathers are becoming an increasingly discretionary expense.
As the economy slows and inflation picks up, consumers may want to redeem their gift cards as soon as possible.
In its biggest sweep ever targeting telemarketing fraud, the FTC announced "Operation Tele-PHONEY," a partnership with more than 30 international, federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. According to a Web cast and press release issued today, the FTC has filed federal district court complaints against "13 allegedly deceptive telemarketing operations." The FTC estimates that the law enforcement actions will save consumers around $30 million over the next year.
Credit card issuer Capital One says that charge-offs in its U.S. card business rose in April, while delinquencies fell.
Student loan giant Sallie Mae appears to have spoken too soon when it said a credit reporting issue that impacted about 1 million student loan borrowers had been resolved. Yes, they fixed the problem that made it look like students were deadbeats. But some borrowers are now reporting that in doing so, it replaced one problem with another, making it look like borrowers have twice as much debt.
Sallie Mae last night resolved a coding error that caused around 1 million student loan borrowers to find that their FICO scores had suddenly plunged over one hundred points.
Nursefinders asked banking giant JPMorgan Chase to offer temporary staff a Chase payroll card that gets loaded with the day's salary as quickly as two hours after a time card is submitted.
Credit cardholders are apparently charge-happy once more: After a slowdown in February, credit card activity ramped up in March.
Getting approved for a credit card became increasingly difficult for consumers with bad credit, based on the results of the latest Federal Reserve bank data.
A U.S. court has granted the Federal Trade Commission's request to penalize a Canadian group that engaged in a cross-border telemarketing scheme. Under their ploy, the Canuck fraudsters offered credit cards and free gifts to consumers in exchange for a fee -- but ultimately failed to provide either the cards or items.
Credit bureau TransUnion said that both credit card debt and delinquency increased in the final months of last year.
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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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