Credit Card Information
Even though millions of consumers take the time to compare credit card offers online every month, television advertising still plays a key role in helping us decide which brands we trust and what cards to avoid.
According to trade publication Advertising Age, lenders have stormed back into Americans' living rooms with sharp ads and big budgets. [...]
Categories: General Credit Card Tips
Surfing a credit card balance from a high-interest card to one with a lower interest rate has been a common way for those with debt to pay it off more quickly and save money (or even make money) on interest. Balance transfer deals became scarce following the financial crisis of 2008 as credit card issuers [...]
Categories: Balance Transfer Credit Cards
Even though it falls on the same date every year, Valentine's Day still takes many of us by surprise. If you're in a new relationship, you're trying to figure out how far you can go with gifts, flowers and dinner on the town. And if you've been with the same partner for years, you're probably [...]
You've resolved to improve your financial situation this year. Maybe you want to pay off a loan, knock off some credit card debt or boost your credit score. Way to go!
As you set out to accomplish your goal, beware and avoid options that seem like quick fixes. Often, they only help at the surface temporarily, [...]
Like a heavyweight fight in Las Vegas, the newest entrant in the super-premium credit card arena, Visa Black Card, challenges the defending champion, the American Express Centurion Card.
Last year, CardRatings.com talked with two entrepreneurs who carry the Centurion card to find out how they use the most exclusive credit card to manage their lives. One [...]
Categories: Rewards Credit Cards
Going through a divorce can be one of the most stressful and emotionally draining experiences of your life. Your credit score is probably the last thing on your mind, but you do need to make sure you're working towards a healthy financial future in the midst of the separation from your spouse.
Some people are left [...]
Categories: Building / Rebuilding Credit
Most Americans have an active stake in one issue that might be easy to overlook in the midst of the 2012 Presidential campaign: policies affecting our day-to-day use of credit cards.
Between the incumbent President, several contenders for the Republican nomination, and a Libertarian candidate, it can be tough to keep track of the various positions [...]
Categories: Credit Card Legislation
If your 2011 financial history involved a string of late payments, dealing with foreclosure, or having accounts go to collections, your credit score probably took a beating.
Still, it is possible to restore your credit if you're willing to make a consistent effort. You'll need to modify your spending, adopt healthier payment practices and tweak a [...]
Categories: Building / Rebuilding Credit
Credit cards aren't magic, but they can seem like it. After all, one minute, you have nothing in your hands, and then the next, simply by waving a piece of plastic (which might as well be a wand), presto! you suddenly own something you didn't previously have.
And for many shoppers, the way credit cards make [...]
Categories: Credit Card Interest / Fees
With 2011 being a banner year for credit card issuers offering juicy rewards promotions, you're likely to see that trend continue in 2012.
Banks are expected to roll out a dizzying array of credit card offers this year. Perhaps none will be more tempting than rewards credit cards that promise cash back on everyday purchases, cash [...]
Categories: Cash Back Credit Cards
Editor's Note: The CardRatings.com team of credit card experts picked the worst credit cards of 2011 based on their terms, fees and overall value to consumers. CardRatings.com was recently ranked the No. 1 credit card comparison site in Bing Editor's Picks.
While we prefer to focus on the best credit card deals on the [...]
Categories: Best Credit Cards
The days of letting credit card cash advances pile up in high-yield savings accounts are behind us. Still, credit card balance transfer offers proliferate as credit card issuers compete for market share. Does it still make sense for you to surf a card balance from one credit card to another?
The answer, and how vigorously it's [...]
Categories: Balance Transfer Credit Cards
You're probably wondering how hard you'll have to work out over the next few weeks to make up for the extra treats you enjoyed during the holidays. And if you're feeling tight at the waist, chances are you're feeling a pinch in the wallet, too.
Surveys from the American Research Group and the American Retail Federation [...]
Categories: Balance Transfer Credit Cards,Best Credit Cards
It's the classic election year question: Are you better off now than you were four years ago?
As the primary season gets under way, expect to hear some version of that question with increasing frequency. Your answer may depend on where you live - and how you vote.
A CardRatings.com study used financial data from Experian to [...]
Categories: Credit Scores
Discover kicks off the new year by jumping into the battle for balance transfers. For a limited time, the Discover More Card has a no-fee offer on a 12 month, zero percent APR cash back credit card with some of the lowest go-to rates we've seen in years. If you're only familiar with Discover Card [...]
Categories: Balance Transfer Credit Cards,Discover Credit Cards
No. 1 Most-Viewed CardRatings.com Article of 2011*
It's hard to believe, but sometimes credit card issuers don't have your best interests at heart. There are a few things, in particular, that would really help you save money on your credit cards. If you were aware of them, that is.
So here's a top five [...]
Categories: Top Articles
No. 2 Most-Viewed CardRatings.com Article of 2011*
Thrilled that your home state made the 10 best states for credit? Dumbfounded that yours was one of the 10 worst states for credit? Or just curious where your state ranked among the 30 states in between?
Hold on to your hats, because CardRatings.com has analyzed data from the [...]
Categories: Top Articles
No. 3 Most-Viewed CardRatings.com Article of 2011*
You probably think the holders of the very best credit cards, such as the American Express Centurion (the "black card"), are all celebrities. But that may not be the typical Centurion member.
Perhaps a better example is Taysha Valez, the 29-year-old founder of myTAY PCS, a mobile phone and [...]
Categories: Top Articles
No. 4 Most-Viewed CardRatings.com Article of 2011
Whether you loved the idea of the Credit CARD Act of 2009 (full disclosure: I'm a fan), or you thought it was yet another overreaching law, with the two-year anniversary just behind us (it was May 22), it's become apparent to industry and personal finance [...]
Categories: Top Articles
No. 5 Most-Viewed CardRatings.com Article of 2011*
When the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act was ushered into law, it was heralded as a way to protect consumers from unfair and deceptive practices by credit card issuers.
But while the new law provided some consumer benefits, many finer points of the CARD [...]
Categories: Top Articles
Prepaid credit cards are growing in popularity among consumers fed up with bank fees.
In 2011, consumers loaded about $460 billion onto prepaid cards, according to research from Mercator Advisory Group. And by 2016, the amount of money added to prepaid cards is expected to mushroom by almost 50 percent to nearly $685 billion.
Prepaid credit cards [...]
Categories: Debit / Prepaid Credit Cards
As the credit card offers fill your mailbox and you see more TV ads for credit cards, you may think that the credit card issuers are looking for new customers. And you're right. If 2011 wasn't your year for credit, 2012 might be better.
We talked to credit card experts to find out what consumers can [...]
Categories: General Credit Card Tips
If you're the parent of a teenager, at some point he or she is going to ask you about two things that may make your heart skip a beat: getting a driver's license, and getting a credit card.
Before your son or daughter can get behind the wheel of a car with a license, he or [...]
Categories: Financial Literacy
You hand your Visa to the waiter to pay for your dinner and he disappears with your credit card. He returns a few minutes later with your bill. You sign the credit card receipt and leave.
You don't think anything of it until the end of the month when you receive your Visa statement, and you [...]
Categories: Identity Theft and Fraud Tips
Many credit cards look and act alike. Cash back rewards cards battle over seasonal bonus promotions, while travel rewards cards often rely on the reputation of their brand partners. A simple bonus, perk or privilege can win the battle for a prospective cardholder's business. To illustrate, we've scoured our database for six of this year's [...]
Categories: Credit Card Deals
