Credit Card Now

The Federal Reserve announced a few more changes to the Credit CARD Act that will be effective August 22, 2010. Many of the changes included in this final rule represent a reaction to some of the practices that credit card issuers have recently adopted.

The new rule:

• Prohibits credit card issuers from charging a penalty fee of more than $25 for paying late or otherwise violating the account’s terms unless the consumer has engaged in repeated violations or the issuer can show that a higher fee represents a reasonable proportion of the costs its incurs as a result of violations.
• Prohibits credit card issuers from charging penalty fees that exceed the dollar amount associated with the consumer’s violation. For

Read more…

It amazes me that a lot of people haven’t heard of the CARD Act yet. Perhaps I’m just biased because I spend a lot of time reading financial sites, but it seems like the CARD Act is one of those laws that’s received an extensive amount of media hype since it was passed last year. How could anyone completely miss it?

I do happen to come across a friend or relative who knows what the CARD Act is from time to time, and when I do I like to ask them what change they think will matter the most to their wallets. Surprisingly, the general response is the same in almost every case—”no more interest rate increases on existing balances.”

Well, that would be a very nice change indeed, but it’s certainly not part of the CARD Act. The truth is

Read more…

On Monday, Apple CEO Steve Jobs made a much-anticipated presentation at the Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco: He announced the birth of the iPhone 4, which will become available to consumers June 24, according to CNET.

The original iPhone was released in 2007, but the new fourth generation puts that model to shame. It’ll be be 24 percent thinner, have a longer battery life and have a camera lens on the front to enable video conferencing. The 5 megapixel camera will also be able to shoot HD video, which can be edited directly on the phone. You’ll also be able to run more than one application at a time.

Read more…

It used to be a snap, finding the best credit card rewards. For a while, credit cards were fighting amongst themselves to attract business, and virtually every card had some sort of gimmick. In those golden days, finding the best credit card rewards usually meant picking the type of reward you wanted among many good cards.

But with the economy in turmoil and new credit laws emerging, it’s not as easy to find those rewards any longer.

What’s changed?

In a word, money is to blame. Credit card companies are working under three major financial blows right now:

1. A struggling economy, which impacts them as much as anyone else

2.

Read more…

The Citi® Diamond Preferred® Rewards Card is offering 6,000 bonus points(redeem for a $50 gift card) after $300 in purchases within 3 months of account opening. On top of the $50 gift card bonus, you will get up to 15 months on balance transfers and purchases at 0% APR. Even with the 3% balance transfer fee, 15 months of 0% APR will greatly save you money if you are paying anywhere more than 10% with your current credit card.

If you hate paying the 3% balance transfer fee, then take advantage of the 0% APR on purchases for up to 15 months. Just use The Citi® Diamond Preferred® Rewards Card on all your current purchases and make the minimum payment each month to take advantage of the 0% APR. Use

Read more…