Credit card news highlights

Written by Geoff Williams
Posted On: November 29, 2011

I've been scouring the Internet, looking for the most interesting news about credit cards, so you don't have to. (This is where you could chime in and say, "Well, I don't have to," but please don't.) In any case, here's what we've got.

MasterCard opens new lounge at JFK airport

If you're passing through JFK airport, MasterCard hopes you'll stop by. The credit card issuer has a Priceless New York campaign going on, and as part of that, at the JFK Airport in terminal 8, they opened their brand new MasterCard Holiday Star Lounge on Black Friday. Travelers can show their MasterCard at the lounge entrance and then waltz right in and use their free WiFi, access to iPads, or charging stations, or just park some of your stuff in the luggage corner for carry-on items. The MasterCard section will be around for at least the next year.

Navy Federal Credit Union offers discounts at Member Mall

NFCU members now can get access to a Member Mall via the NFCU website (navyfederal.org). It's a web portal to over 700 online retailers with discounted prices and free shipping.

The signature effect

Florida's Sun Sentinel reports that the University of Miami recently debuted the results of a new study, which they call "the Signature Effect." They conducted a slew of tests and feel confident in stating that if you, for instance, go into a store at the mall at the same time someone else does, who isn't shopping with a credit card, and you buy something with your credit card and sign for the purchase, odds are that you will continue shopping 10 to 15 minutes longer than the person who didn't sign for their purchase.

I'll leave it up to everyone else to decide if that's useful information to know, especially with the holiday shopping season in full swing.

Salvation Army enters the 21st century

You knew this day was coming. For years, people have walked up to the folks ringing the bell for the Salvation Army and have said, sometimes honestly and sometimes surely not, "Gee, all I have is a credit card. If you took a credit card, I'd be glad to give you a donation."

Well, soon, you'll be able to do just that in major cities such as New York, Chicago, Dallas and San Francisco, according to MainStreet.com. The Salvation Army is teaming with Square, an electronic payment service, to allow credit card donations. Along with the bell, the Salvation Army volunteer will have a cell phone. The shopper can then donate by swiping their card through the Square attachment to the smartphone (the phones are being donated by Sprint) and entering an email address to get a receipt. And it's a great deal for Square, which receives 2.75 percent of all transactions.

And speaking of ringing bells…

Don't you think this should have rung a bell or waved a red flag to the convenience store clerk? FirstCoastNews.com reports that the Jacksonville Beach (Fla.) police department just released information that in the wee hours of Nov. 21, an alleged credit card thief made some purchases at a Kangaroo Express in Jacksonville Beach and then left with $2,397.67 worth of cigarettes and gift cards.

And why should the clerk have figured out something was wrong or weird? Granted, the clerk may have understandably been afraid to say anything. Still, you'd think the credit card issuer's computer would sound an alarm or something and decline the credit card. Why? Well, the suspect, who was in the store for 30 minutes, made TWENTY-TWO separate purchases with his credit card.

Someone should call Guinness. That must be some sort of world record.