Credit Card Information

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Choose a credit card issuer that you think you'll want to do business with for years. Most lenders offer versions of their most popular credit cards with relaxed underwriting guidelines (and smaller credit limits) just for students and recent graduates. Your student credit card won't expire once you hang your diploma, either. Keep your card for [...]
Categories: Best Credit Cards
Barclaycard Ring is out to disrupt the way Americans use credit cards. Barclays Bank Delaware started accepting applications from the general public in April, capping months of research and testing on a new "crowdsourced" credit card that allows online cardmembers an opportunity to "shape and share in the product's financial success." Paul Wilmore, managing director for Consumer [...]
Back when international credit card transactions traveled along undersea phone lines, banks started charging fees for the convenience of switching francs, pounds or yen over to dollars. Today, with instant Internet authorizations and real-time currency conversion, it hardly seems fair to charge a foreign transaction fee. Fortunately, a growing number of banks agree. Escape by Discover [...]
You were saving those airline credit card miles for your dream vacation. Finally, you accumulated enough and go online to reserve your flight only to get bad news. Your miles have expired. They are no longer good. It's a mistake that even John Ulzheimer, president of consumer education for SmartCredit.com, has made, to his utter dismay. The [...]
Do you wish you and your family had leaner bodies and fatter wallets? You might think accomplishing either one of those would involve a lot of grueling work, but that's not always the case. The good news is that making some simple changes in your life can improve both your physical and financial health. Here are [...]
Since April is National Stress Awareness Month - and Financial Literacy Month too - now is the perfect time to identify the personal finance issues that could cause stress for you and your loved ones. Money problems of all kinds are a major source of anxiety and stress for many Americans. Anxiety and stress can lead [...]
More than 1 in 8 American consumers now carry reloadable prepaid debit cards, according to a new report from Javelin Strategy & Research. Stronger rewards, cheaper fees, and changing attitudes about traditional banks all contributed to the growth of prepaid debit, even during a period that saw many banks shrink the number of their traditional [...]
There's sometimes a penalty that comes with being innovative: often those who copy your idea leapfrog you. It happened with color television. Americans were enjoying this for many years while Europeans and others continued to peer at murky, mushy monochrome screens. Then, in the late 1960s, some countries adopted the PAL color television coding system, which [...]
When Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson envisioned the first Earth Day in 1970, environmental activists achieved more than they could have imagined. The years that followed saw the launch of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act. Since then, companies have worked harder to balance business demands and environmental protection [...]
Categories: Best Credit Cards
Fifty years ago, the Beatles signed their record deal with EMI, found a new drummer, and started recording their classic songs. In September 1962, with no clue about the fortunes they'd amass as one of the world's biggest rock and roll acts, the Fab Four had to borrow money from manager Brian Epstein for airfare [...]
Different versions of the tale offer various inspirations for Frank McNamara's brainstorm at the start of the 1950s. A personal loan business going stale, an embarrassing night out, and a nervous conversation with his wife all factor into the creation of Diners Club, the first general purpose credit card designed to work with multiple merchants. More [...]
Categories: Credit Card Deals
Likely you've done it -- lost your credit card bill under a pile of papers and by the time the bill surfaces, it's past due. Guess what: You've just committed one of the seven deadly sins of credit card use - and the costs will add up. Yes, the best credit cards are a convenient way [...]
More than 1.4 million Americans claimed bankruptcy during the preceding year as of September 2011 (the latest statistics available), punctuating the frustration many Americans felt at the height of the economic crisis. Filing for bankruptcy protection under either Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 requires overcoming extreme emotions. We fear the social stigma of being classified [...]
Record numbers of banking executives packed a well-known resort outside Orlando in the latter half of March to swap industry gossip and to show off the latest innovations in debit and credit card products. Under shareholder pressure to lend more money to consumers, big banks used the gathering to scout potential takeover targets. Marketing chiefs attended [...]
Categories: Credit Card Deals
If you're paying 2011 income tax to the IRS this year, you have several ways to pony up, including cash, personal check and your favorite credit card. A recent MSN poll of 954 readers found that only 8 percent of them plan to pay with a credit card. While there are positives to paying taxes [...]
If your child is in college or will soon be turning 18 years old, you may have toyed with the idea of letting him or her get a credit card. But should you co-sign for that card? Financial experts offer a range of opinions on the topic. "It's important for young people to have something to help them [...]
Categories: First Credit Card
If you can see yourself hanging out with the well-heeled couple in those Chase Sapphire commercials, you probably made it through the recession relatively unscathed. Not everyone's feeling so fortunate, though. According to a joint poll run by MSN Money and CardRatings.com, nearly three in four Americans report having frozen or cut back their use of [...]
Using an airline credit card can be fun, if you don't mind the bills. Every purchase can allow you to daydream about how to use the airline miles you're earning. A trip to Hawaii in the winter or flying the family to Disneyland sounds like fun…until you try to redeem those miles. "It's harder than ever [...]
According to the U.S Travel Association, Americans plan three of every four domestic trips for leisure purposes. That means big changes at airports, where airlines have replaced swanky lounges with extra departure gates. Even the best credit cards for frequent travelers have evolved, offering more rewards for leisure travel and easier ways to earn free [...]
Change doesn't come quickly to the credit card business. It took almost two decades for engineers to agree on the standard for the magnetic stripe. Another 25 years passed before European banks issued cards with embedded microchips, a technology that never took off in the United States. Even today's contactless credit [...]
An estimated 58.5 million Americans traveled overseas in 2011, according to the International Trade Administration. That's a 3 percent increase from the year before, signaling that our wanderlust and our love of travel bargains has inspired us to start globetrotting again. To help you get ready for your next adventure outside the United States, we [...]
You might think your credit and financial habits are nobody's business but your own. But whether you like it or not, your kids - especially teenagers and college students - watch your financial behaviors and learn a lot from you. For better or worse, our offspring often mimic our financial traits and money-management patterns in ways [...]
Categories: Financial Literacy
Whether you're celebrating spring break as an actual student, or you're young in spirit, we can suggest six of the best credit cards to help keep you from losing your shirt. At least, a shirt you don't want to lose… Best credit card for spreading out spring break travel costs If you've already splurged on airfare and [...]
Many credit card articles are about the importance of using a credit card responsibly.  This one isn't one of those. Credit card roulette is a game, but it's definitely not for kids. Or people who are cash poor. Or people with a nervous constitution. If you think "credit card roulette" means deciding which of your credit card [...]
CardRatings.com asked readers to tell us how they helped or hurt their credit scores. This story from reader Melinda Graham of York, Pa., shows how a little bill can cost you big money. In the fall of 2008, I got a flu shot at my doctor's office. A few weeks later, I got billed $5 for [...]
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