Credit Card Industry Leaders Hint of Upcoming Fee and Lending Changes

By Curtis Arnold, CardRatings.com Founder

Bank executives told audiences at recent industry events that pending credit card rules and current economic stress have forced lenders to reinvent themselves. Capital One CFO Gary Perlin told a New York audience that he expected many credit card issuers to restructure their fees. Meanwhile, James Dimon of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. told attendees at another conference that tighter lending practices would stem further credit card losses.

On a recent conference call, Visa Chairman and CEO Joseph Saunders told investors that many banks will shift their marketing efforts toward profitable initiatives. "I think that our clients are pretty smart about their businesses," said Saunders. "I think they know what they are doing and I think they will promote those things they think will resonate at a particular point in time." Saunders noted that he has already seen his company's clients issue more debit and prepaid payment cards during a period when banks have been reluctant to extend credit.

How do you feel about the new fees and lending changes? We welcome you to share your ideas on our active credit card forum.

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This article was written by Curtis Arnold, a nationally recognized consumer educator and advocate. Curtis has been educating consumers about credit cards since 1998. He is regularly interviewed and quoted by respected members of the national press regarding consumer credit issues. His new book, How YOU Can Profit from Credit Cards: Using Credit to Improve Your Financial Life and Bottom Line is available now! Order online and receive up to a 32% discount.

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CardRatings.com is the most comprehensive source for comparing credit card offers. CardRatings.com is pleased to offer consumers free credit card ratings.

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Please Note! You are welcome to republish this article as long as you state that CardRatings.com is the source for the article. You must also include a link to our website if you republish the article online. Click here for more details about using our articles and thank you for your interest!

Beware of Credit Card Foreign Transaction Fees!

By Heshan Demel, CardRatings.com, Consumer Credit Researcher


Foreign exchange fees on credit cards should be of keen interest to those traveling beyond the borders of the United States. Exchange rates offered by credit cards are usually hard to beat. Of equal and perhaps greater importance, however, is the foreign transaction fee that your credit card bill might show once you have returned home from your trip. This fee, which is often a shock to cardholders, has been increasing as of late. So cardholders that travel overseas extensively need to be aware of foreign transaction fees.

Many travelers now rely on credit cards to pay for overseas travel and purchases. For many consumers, credit cards are easier to keep up with than traveler's checks and they're almost universally accepted now.

Foreign transaction fees charged by credit card issuers will mean you may pay a little extra for that umbrella drink in the Caribbean or that Parisian pastry.

Virtually every credit card assesses an international transaction fee for purchases done outside the 50 states, and that could even include U.S. territories like Puerto Rico and the U. S. Virgin Islands. Visa and MasterCard charge a 1% processing fee and most card-issuing banks add additional fees as well (on top of the 1% fee levied by MasterCard/Visa).

This fee is generally a percentage of the U.S. Dollar value of the transaction. So, even if you paid 100 Euros for a meal that was actually $125.00 (U.S. Dollars), the foreign transaction fees will be assessed on the $125.00 amount.

A March 2007 survey of credit card issuers by CardRatings.com revealed the following foreign transaction fees:

American Express - 2%
Bank of America - 3%
Chase - 3%
Citi Bank - 3%
Washington Mutual - 1%
Wells Fargo - 3%
Capital One - No Foreign Transaction Fee
Discover - Rarely accepted overseas so not part of this list

Despite fee hikes in the past year or so, credit cards are often still the most cost effective payment method for overseas travel, but you should consider fees when planning your trip and budget accordingly.

Update: You maybe entitled to a refund of any Foreign Transaction Fees imposed between Feb 1, 2006 and November 08, 2006. Please refer to www.ccfsettlement.com.

Bon voyage!

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Heshan Demel- Heshan joined the CardRatings.com family in January 07 but has supported them for many years due to his close friendship with its founder. He has a bachelor's degree in finance from Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas and a Master's Degree in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Arkansas. He has over 9 years of banking experience with Regions Bank where he was a loan analyst. He is a member of the Arkansas Young Professionals Network and enjoys ballroom dancing, travel, and entertaining.

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We welcome your comments about credit card issues in our popular credit forum!

CardRatings.com is the most comprehensive source for comparing credit card offers. CardRatings.com is pleased to offer consumers free credit card ratings.

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Please Note! You are welcome to republish this article as long as you state that CardRatings.com is the source for the article. You must also include a link to our website if you republish the article online. Click here for more details about using our articles and thanks for your interest!

Citibank and Chase Adopt More Consumer Friendly Credit Card Policies

By Heshan Demel, CardRatings.com Consumer Credit Researcher


Citibank recently announced that they would be eliminating the controversial universal default clause from all of their accounts. At the same time, Citi announced that is also eliminating “any time for any reason” increases to the rates and fees of its customers’ accounts.

Traditionally, credit card issuers have taken the position that they can increase rates and fees at any time for any reason. As a result of the new policy, Citi will not voluntarily increase the rates and fees of any cardholder accounts until the card expires and a new card is issued (typically 2 years).

Chase also announced recently that they would eliminate the equally controversial double or two cycle billing method of calculating finance charges. This method of computing finance charges results in significantly higher finance or interest charges for cardholders who carry a balance on occasion. Chase also said it will ease up on some fees it charges customers who go over their credit limit (aka credit line). The company will stop over-limit fees at 90 days.

If you are unhappy with your current card for any reason (fees, rates, etc.), then you should definitely call your card company to complain. The card issuers are more receptive to cardholder requests now than they have been in many years due to the intense political and media pressure they are feeling. Use this pressure to your advantage! Many times a simple 5 minute phone call will lower your rate by several percentage points resulting in hundreds of dollars in savings. At the same time, most issuers are willing to reverse a $39 late fee at least once a year or so.

If you don’t get the results that you want from your current issuer, then start comparison shopping! The average credit card interest rate is currently around 15%. If your credit score is 700 or better, you should qualify for a rate around 10%. Shop CardRatings.com for the best low rate and low introductory rate card offers, as well as info. on how to obtain your credit score for free.

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Heshan Demel- Heshan joined the CardRatings.com family in January 07 but has supported them for many years due to his close friendship with its founder. He has a bachelor's degree in finance from Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas and a Master's Degree in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Arkansas. He has over 9 years of banking experience with Regions Bank where he was a loan analyst. He is a member of the Arkansas Young Professionals Network and enjoys ballroom dancing, travel, and entertaining.

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We welcome your comments about credit card issues in our popular credit forum!

CardRatings.com is the most comprehensive source for comparing credit card offers. CardRatings.com is pleased to offer consumers free credit card ratings.

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Please Note! You are welcome to republish this article as long as you state that CardRatings.com is the source for the article. You must also include a link to our website if you republish the article online. Click here for more details about using our articles and thanks for your interest!

Credit Card Foreign Transaction Fees on the Rise

By Heshan Demel, Consumer Credit Researcher - CardRatings.com


Foreign exchange fees on credit cards should be of keen interest to those traveling beyond the borders of the United States. Exchange rates offered by credit cards are usually hard to beat. Of equal and perhaps greater importance, however, is the foreign transaction fee that your credit card bill might show once you have returned home from your trip. This fee, which is often a shock to cardholders, has been increasing as of late.

Many travelers now rely on credit cards to pay for overseas travel and purchases. For many consumers, credit cards are easier to keep up with than traveler's checks and they're almost universally accepted now.

Despite the convenience associated with using cards out of the country, there are normally costs associated with the convenience. Foreign transaction fees charged by credit card issuers will mean you may pay a little extra for that umbrella drink in the Caribbean or that Parisian pastry.

Virtually every credit card assesses an international transaction fee for purchases done outside the 50 states, and that could even include U.S. territories like Puerto Rico and the U. S. Virgin Islands. Visa and MasterCard charge a 1% processing fee and most card-issuing banks add additional fees as well (on top of the 1% fee levied by MasterCard/Visa).

This fee is generally a percentage of the U.S. Dollar value of the transaction. So, even if you paid 100 Euros for a meal that was actually $125.00 (U.S. Dollars), the foreign transaction fees will be assessed on the $125.00 amount.

A recent CardRatings.com survey of credit card issuers revealed the following foreign transaction fees:

American Express - 2%
Bank of America - 3%
Chase - 3%
Citi Bank - 3%
Washington Mutual - 1%
Wells Fargo - 3%
Capital One - No Foreign Transaction Fee
Discover - Rarely accepted overseas so not part of this list

Despite fee hikes in the past year or so, credit cards are often still the most cost effective payment method for overseas travel, but you should consider fees when planning your trip and budget accordingly. Bon voyage!

We welcome your comments about credit card and other money issues in our popular credit forum!

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Heshan Demel- Heshan is new to the CardRatings.com family but has supported them for many years due to his close friendship with its founder. He has a bachelor's degree in finance from Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas and a Master's Degree in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Arkansas. He has over 9 years of banking experience with Regions Bank where he was a loan analyst. He is a member of the Arkansas Young Professionals Network and enjoys ballroom dancing, travel, and entertaining.

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CardRatings.com is the most comprehensive source for comparing credit card offers. CardRatings.com is pleased to offer consumers free credit card ratings.

---

Please Note! You are welcome to republish this article as long as you state that CardRatings.com is the source for the article. You must also include a link to our website if you republish the article online.
Click here for more details about using our articles and thanks for your interest!