Jan 21
Banks and credit card companies make roughly $250 million annually through transaction costs on charitable donations, with a sharp increase when disaster strikes and humanitarian aid pours in. With contributions to the Haiti relief effort expected in the millions, banks and credit card companies stand to make a bundle from the generosity of Americans. But with growing criticism that credit card issuers are profiting from disaster, American Express, Visa, MasterCard and Discover are opting to forgo or donate their usual interchange fee (3-4%) for some donations made to the relief effort.
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Jan 20
Current by Discover® is the perfect credit card to set your teens on the path to responsible money management – but with some parental controls built in to keep them safe.
The Current card is a pre-paid card that gives your teens the freedom to spend as they wish – within boundaries. Parents can set up weekly spending limits and block charges at any category of retailer, or the ATM machine.
The card can be loaded by transfers from a parent’s account, and working teens can have their paychecks automatically deposited. They’ll even receive an email notice when the funds are in the account. They can Read more…
Jan 18
Instead they have announced plans that could leave two million vulnerable borrowers paying top rates of interest on their debts.
The Department for Business, Innovation And Skills had proposed a ban on unrequested rises to credit limits, an increase in the minimum borrowers should repay each month, and an end to surprise rate changes.
Credit card firms have rejected all three requests.
A fourth proposal was to change the order in which debts are repaid which could cut the time taken to repay and slash the interest charges.
Banks have accepted only a small part of this. There are 66m credit cards in the UK.
With the majority the most expensive debt you incur is paid off last.
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Jan 16
If you’re like me, my wife, and most of the credit card users in the United States, you received a little note from your lender in 2009 outlining “simple changes” to your card’s terms and conditions. At my house, our lenders’ contract adjustments included:
• Hiking the interest rate on one card to 33%
• Dropping the credit limit on another card from $5,000 to $2,000
• Reducing cash-back rewards by about half
• Adding fees for frequent-flyer-mile participation
• Canceling one credit line without our prior knowledge
Our reaction to each one of these letters was probably like yours: lots of unprintable cussing, followed by the shredding of at least two platinum cards. However, I remember
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Jan 15
There have been a variety of scams people have fallen victim to when trying to redeem their gift cards. Here are a few tips and situations to help you avoid being ripped off of your money.
1. After purchasing the card immediately write your initials on the back of it in permanent marker.
When an unknowing consumer goes to use their gift card at the place of purchase, the cashier will switch the card with a different one containing no value. When the cashier tries to verify the card and the value is zero the consumer is out of luck.
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