Credit Card Now

The news is bleak: unemployment numbers for young adults between 16 and 29 is more than twice the national rate, the amount of college debt continues to climb as more and more college graduates cant find work and an alarming number of those college grads are discovering that moving out of Mom an Dads house is an impossibility.

Indeed, the unemployment rates for this age group havent been this high since World War II. And did we mention this particular group is racking up credit card debt with no way to repay it? Enter American Express and its genius one-stop shop for curing all that ails these young people – provided the plan doesnt backfire, of course.

American Express has teamed with two very different services that serve a shared purpose: putting younger Americans to work. B

Read more…

While it may not be one of Australia’s Big Four Banks, Citibank is one of the largest banks in the world, established in over 34 countries with products and services to match.

With a range of credit cards that caters for everyday, rewards and business needs, Citibank is also giving other credit card issuers a run for their money.

But if you are not sure what kind of card you are looking for, the reputation of these four Citibank cards may help you make a decision.

Citibank Gold

This gold rewards card gives people the chance to earn up to five points per $1 with reward partners and two points per $1 everywhere else, which is better than some of the platinum rewards cards currently available.

With the Citibank Gold card you also get access to the Citibank Dining Program, complimentary international travel insurance and purchase protection – features which have helped the card win a high rating with Canstar Cannex.

For people looking at balance transfer options, the low rate of 1.9% p.a. for

Read more…

Tags: Credit, Credit Cards

The Federal Reserve announced that it intended to keep low ongoing interest rates at their current levels for at least the next two years despite the recent downgrade in the US credit rating.

It hopes that a stable rate will encourage the lending and borrowing that so often sparks the economy.  Many consumers believe that this promise will keep their credit card APRs from rising.  Sadly, this thinking is mistaken.

Most experts are predicting a rise in credit card interest rates in the near future.  Card rates are not inextricably tied to the prime rate, which means that they can still go up even if the Fed is holding down the prime rate.  Card rates are variable, not fixed.  Variable rates are made up of an index and a margin.

The index is usually the prime rate.  This is the starting point for most variable rates.  The margin is the amount above and beyond the index that the issuer charges.  This margin can be as low or high as the lender chooses.  If the risk is high, the lender will probably raise the rate of the margin.  Most experts believe higher card rates will be in effect just in time for holiday spending.

Tags: Credit, Credit Card

Prospective homeowners continue to be forced out of the housing market, with “first-time buyer blackspots” covering seven out of 11 regions in the UK and half of all UK tenants expecting rents to rise in the next year.

According to property website Rightmove, only 23% of people who intend to purchase a property in the next 12 months are first-time buyers, when 40% is considered normal for a healthy housing market.

Read more…

You’ve worked really hard to pay down your debt and on time, checked your credit reports and fixed any errors, done all the things you’re supposed to do to drive up your score.  Now you’re ready to take you’re 720 credit score and march into your creditor’s (or potential creditor’s) office and start demanding the best terms, right?  Not so fast.  Don’t be surprised if your creditor is looking at a different score than you are.  Here are a few reasons why.

It’s probably not a FICO Score.  Most “free” credit scores available today are mostly estimations of a FICO score. What difference does it make you ask? While these substitute s

Read more…

Tags: Hard, Hard Find