CardRatings.com Monthly Newsletter February 2006
February 1, 2006
Bi-Weekly Credit Card Payments Can Save $1000s in Interest Charges
Here's a little known tactic for getting out of credit card debt: Send in bi-weekly payments. Say you owe $5,000 on a credit card with a 17% interest rate and 3% minimum payment. If you only send in the minimum amount every month, by the time you've paid off that $5,000, your interest bite would be $4,119. (2/1/06)
Protecting Your Credit- The FACT Act in Layman's Terms
Do you know all the implications of identity theft? Do you know that an imposter can open lines of credit, drain your bank account, file for bankruptcy, get an ID card, get a job, and even be arrested all in your name? All the missed payments an imposter doesn't make are reported in your credit file causing your credit score to suffer. (1/23/06)
Will The Number of Delinquent Credit Card Accounts Increase in 2006?
The American Bankers Association (ABA) recently posted statistics concerning delinquent credit card payments. The data indicates a continued high delinquency rate, which in turn leads to lower credit scores since past payment history accounts for about 35% of one's credit score. The more recent a tardiness, the more credit score points are sacrificed. (1/18/06)
You are welcome to print a copy of any of the articles listed below and distribute them freely. We only ask that you reference our website (as being the source for the articles) when you distribute the articles. If you are a webmaster, you are also welcome to post any of the articles listed below on your site provided that you include a link to our site between the title and the body of the article (stating that CardRatings.com produced the article). If you would prefer to have the articles in MS Word format, then please contact us and we will e-mail you any article that you are interested in as an attachment.
Visa Announces Presenting Sponsorship of New Paralympic Hall of Fame at Torino Visa recently announced that, in addition to continuing its proud tradition of sponsoring the Paralympic Winter Games, it will be the Presenting Sponsor of the first Paralympic Hall of Fame (PHF). The PHF will be inaugurated at an Induction Ceremony on March 9th at the Armida Rowing Club in conjunction with the Torino 2006 Paralympic Winter Games. Read more >>
"Maxed Out" Credit Card Documentary To Debut at 2006 SXSW Film Festival An interesting new documentary about credit card debt entitled "Maxed Out" will make its world premiere at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival in Austin, Texas on March 10-18. The documentary provides a comical and, at the same time, disturbing glimpse into what makes Americans addicted to credit card debt. Read more >>
Can a Major Credit Card Issuer Really Educate Consumers about Responsible Card Usage? When it comes to financial success, credit health is a key component; and lots of education is critical in helping the next generation start down the path of responsible credit card usage. We can never have too much credit card education, and it's helpful if it comes from many different angles including parents, teachers, and even credit card companies. Read more >>
Chase Changes their Credit Card Terms - A Lesson in Reading the Fine Print Read the fine print. It's a rule of thumb we here at CardRatings.com try to impress to our readers on a daily basis. The good news is it's working! Several members of our credit card forum recently posted messages about a change in terms and conditions with their Chase credit card-the removal of the cap for balance transfer fees. And if you've been reading the fine print carefully, you will also note a change in Chase's Universal Default clause. Read more >>
Credit Card Debt Key Factor in Record Number of Consumer Bankruptcies Filed in 2005 2005 consumer bankruptcy filings were the highest on record according to Lundquist Consulting, Inc., experts in bankruptcy statistics and analytics. There were 2,043,535 consumer bankruptcies filed in 2005 as opposed to 1,552,967 filed in 2004. Read more >>
HOT TOPICS...American Express Platinum Credit Card Invitation
Just recieved the invitation to be upgraded to the Amex Platinum card, I know that annual fee is high however the complimentary access to the Delta Crown Room and other airline club rooms makes up for the annual fee. Just wanted to know if anyone else carried this card, I'm pretty excited.
MJ5084, Anyone have any good/bad experiences with either the Chase Blink Card or the AMEX One Card? I'm looking to replace one or two of my non-reward cards and narrowed it down to these two.
credithelp answers, Amex one has a fee of $35 but is waived during the first year. When the fee hits you basically won't get anything back until after you spend $3500 since it pays 1% into an account. The first $3500 is basically you getting your annual fee back. Its not a bad card for someone who needs a jumpstart on getting a savings account going but the 1% doesnt add up to much unless you are really a big spender. They also give you $25 in your account after you first use the card.
minute, Which cash rebate cards do you use for the gas?
1. Citibank credit cards (like Dividend master card) 2. AAA Platinum VISA card 3. American Express Cash Rebate Card 4. Discover 5. Credit card from the gas provider (like Shell credit card or Exxon/Mobile credit card) 6. Others
stevejk answers, My top three would be, in no particular order.. Citi Dividend Chase Cash Plus Chase Rewards Plus The reward structure is the same, i.e., 5% on gas, groceries, and drug store purchases and 1% everything else. The biggest difference is the Citi Dividend and Chase Cash Plus have a $300 annual limit whereas the Chase Rewards Plus has a $750 annual limit (but only $600 can be cash back, the rest can be in merchant gift cards). My honorable mention would be... Chase PerfectCard (3% on gas, 1% everything else) Discover Platinum Gas (5% on gas for first $1200 in annual purchases)
Visit our active Message Board. Ask a question, give your opinions. Select questions answered by our board monitor. Our board currently has over 30,000 posts (since May 2000) and new posts are added daily. We are seeking new consumers like you to become involved in our board community.
| Recent Credit Card Reviews by Consumers Like You |
Following is a sampling of the latest consumer reviews that can be found by clicking the "Cardholder Reviews" link above. We take pride in the quantity (our site offers approximately 17,250 reviews of 928 different credit cards) and quality of the consumer reviews that can be find on our site. New reviews are added on a daily basis. The cards are rated on a scale from 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest recommended. Credit Card: Banana Republic Card Review: I am so disgusted by the customer service of this company. I recieved a call from a lady who starts yelling at me for not paying my statement for the last 3 months. I told her I had sent in the check fot the entire bill of $110.03 in Dec when the first bill arrived. When my second bill came stating that they haven't recieved it, I immediately called BR card. The customer service lady told me not to worry because it may take up to 30 days for it to be processed. Of course, they have no record of this. After going round and round, and accused of lying. She had insisted that I had receved a 3rd bill, and I should not have waited. I told her I never recived this said bill, then she changed her story and said, "oh we just mailed it on the 9th, you should get it anyday now". How was I to know a 3rd bill was coming? I haven't used that card since the Dec. purchase. I was going no where with this person. I decided to call the BR customer service number and speak to a supervisor. I finally convinced them that I am not trying to skip out on my bill, but honestly haven't heard back. She was willing to waive only 1 of the $25 late fee. I told her no, I wanted both to be taken off as well as the interest. she said she would compromise and take off the 2 late fee if I would pay the interest. Still unfair since it was their fault, but just to finish this unpleasant experience, I agreed. I also cancelled my card. It's a shame that they would lose a customer over $110.03. Best Feature: none Overall Rating: 1 Credit Card: Aspire Gold Visa® Card Review: I have had my card with aspire for almost a year. Never late or over limit. Granted I am @ my limit, but always make a little more then minimum payment required and there has been no mention of limit increase. Why? Best Feature: pretty good interest rate Overall Rating: 4.5 Blue Cash® for Business Credit Card Review: The initial letter that I received from AmEx offered a $100. gift card after three charges were placed on the card. That was back in July 2005. I complied with the charges in the alloted time period which was by 09/30/05. Actually, the third charge was on 08/22/05, over a month earlier than required. After I was told that the card would automatically be sent to me after 6 to 10 weeks, I waited. I called again in Nov 2005 and was told that IT was under investigation and I should hear something SHORTLY. I called again in Dec 2005 at which time I was told that the case would be reopened! I called again in Jan 2006 and I went through the whole story again. I was told that I would hear back within 7 days. I called them again after waiting 13 days with no response. They informed me that my case will be turned over to the marketing dept and I will definately hear from them within 10 days. It has been almost a month! I can not believe that I can't get a straight answer out of these people! How many other people have been made offers with enticements of different sorts that have NOT materialized? I have the original letter that they sent to me with the $100 offer. I faxed them a copy of the letter in Nov 2005 at their request and at my expense. I have a case #DI72941. What more can I do? Best Feature: A $100.00 gift card was offered as a "come on" enticement. Overall Rating: 1 Credit Card: Citi® Dividend Platinum Select® Card Review: recommend this card for those who purchase often in gas stations/grocery stores/pharmacies with you receive 5% cash back (other purchases 1%). Also $5 per each $1500 BT's and 1% in cash advances(@ regular APR). The only draw is the $300 per year cap , except for purchase made by Dividend Merchant Network. Best Feature: the cash back Overall Rating: 5 Credit Card: WorldPoints® Platinum Plus® MasterCard® Review: New meaning to the "GIFT" that keeps on giving. Like giving you a bill for over 300 because they don't tell you outright this card can be used over the GIFT amount in "some" gas station auto pay pumps. So when you give it to someone, you keep on giving until they finally catch up with the pre pay pumps. Most all of the people at World Points didn't and don't even know this. So Beware! Account Closed after excellent history and over 15 years. Best Feature: Was a good card until you cash in your rewards points. Overall Rating: 3.5 Credit Card: Shell MasterCard® Review: Unlimited rebates toward future gas purchases are a real plus, especially with the current high prices. Another great plus is the on-line account management. I can schedule up to four payments during the month and the payment is posted on the day I select (including the same day if requested in the morning). I can also get a snapshot of the current balance between statements. Best Feature: Unlimited 5% gas rebate Overall Rating: 4.5 Credit Card: Capital One® Go Miles Platinum Visa® Card Review: In 2003 I was able to redeem 60,000 miles for $600 cashback which I used to purchase my own cheap $300 per person tickes from Oakland to Ft. Lauderdale. Well, I thought I would do that once again as I have approx. 70,000 more points accrued. Yes, I did receive a notice stating that my Milesone would be changing to Go Miles and that I would NOW be earning 1.25 POINTS PER dollar spent as opposed to 1 to 1. I knew that meant a reduction in the award, but did not think it would be reduced by one-half. And now instead of 18,000 points per ticket to be redeemed it's now 35,000 per ticket. But my understanding is that's how it is with all the other airline programs anyway. And a ticket to Hawaii is 60,000 as opposed to 40,000. Boo-hoo. Anyway, I remember when you didn't get a thing for having a credit card, so to me something is better than nothing. And I have a very substantial credit limit that they just gave to me automatically and I do have very good credit. In fact, I have contemplated calling them and asking them to reduce the limit. BTW, when I did call to redeem my miles for cash, the person on the phone was very accommodating and my checks arrived exactly when he said they would, about 3 to 5 weeks time. Best Feature: No blackout periods for travel AND redeem for most any airline Overall Rating: 3.5 Credit Card: Dillards Charge Review: Customer Service is Horrible! In July 05 I opened a Dillards accound. Started with a $2000 limit and after 4 months it was increased to $10,000. I took advantage of the club option for some large purchases, so I was issued an Elite card. When my card arrived there was someone elses card in the envelope as well. I called customer service to report this and was told to shred the card. Two days later the account was closed for fraud. I called in and the rep mis-understood what I said about the other persons card. The fraud department straightened it out and I was issued a new account #. This was the beginning of Jan 06. My statement date is the 10th of each month and the bill is due by the 5th of the following month. I get my statement this month with a $35 late fee. My Dec statment showed a $3780 balance, which $3000 was on the club option. So my minimum payment was $272, $250 for the club option and $22 for the reg revolving. On December 27th I made a $750 payment in store which it showed on my statement. So again I call customer service, was told it was an error and would be corrected. It is Jan 28th and the late fee is still on my account. I love shopping at Dillards, but the customer service at GEMB is HORRIBLE. As an Elite member I'm supposed to get priority customer service, but I'd like to know where it's at. I also lost about 2000 reward points that I still havn't received certificates for. Best Feature: Club Option/Rewards Overall Rating: 5 Credit Card: Citi® Platinum Select® Card for College Students Review: My spouse and I have been with Citi for over two years. This month I made the payment online through Citi's website but I missed the cutoff by an hour. This was the only time we have ever been "late" making the payment cutoff. Because I missed the 1pm cutoff, we were accessed a $39 late fee even though the payment was made the same day. I called Customer Service and was told the fee would not be reversed as we missed the deadline. My spouse and I have decided to balance transfer to Wells Fargo which offered a higher credit line, lower APR and more reasonable late fee costs if I miss the deadline again. Best Feature: Customer Service Overall Rating: 4 The Cardholder Review section is a unique feature of our site and, to the best of our knowledge, there is no other organization or company that offers more consumer reviews of credit cards. It's all about consumers helping other consumers. As your might expect, this section of our site has been one of the most popular sections of our site since it was introduced in the summer of 2000. New reviews are posted on a daily basis. We hope that you will find this section of our site useful and that you will visit it on a regular basis. |
Important Note! The information in this article is believed to be accurate as of the date it was written. Please keep in mind that credit card offers change frequently. Therefore, we can not guarantee the accuracy of the information in this article. Please verify all terms and conditions of any credit card prior to applying.
You are welcome to print a copy of any of our articles and distribute them for educational purposes. If you are a webmaster, you can post any of our articles on your site provided that you include a link to our site. Please click here for more information about free credit card articles.
Delicious
Digg
Tip'd
Facebook
Twitter
StumbleUpon




