Credit Blog

The Credit Blog is your free credit card update resource that:

- lets you know whenever any new Web pages appear on Credit-Cards-Comparisons.com

- keeps you up-to-date with the lastest news and tips on credit cards and credit management.

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Discover the wonderful world of RSS - it is great fun, and remember, it puts YOU in the driver's seat!

Sep 7, 2008, US travelers face credit snafu

New global system declines the cards Americans carry. Europeans and others worldwide are shifting to the PIN based system, but US credit card firms are refusing.

Sep 3, 2008, American Express tops credit card satisfaction poll

American Express Co ranked highest in consumer satisfaction among US credit card issuers for the second straight year, according to a JD Power and Associates poll released on Wednesday, which cited its benefit and reward programs.

American Express, the fourth largest US credit card issuer, was followed in the rankings by Discover Financial Services.

Both American Express and Discover improved their performance from last years survey and were the only two companies whose scores topped the industry average in the poll.

Aug 31, 2008, The Death of the Credit Card Economy

Car leases, student loans, no money down mortgages, and high credit limits are vanishing. The most revolutionary notion in commerce today is one of the oldest. If you want to buy something, you may actually have to pay for it. We are reverting from a borrow and buy economy to the cash and carry model of our grandparents.

Aug 27, 2008, Sharing credit cards causes fights

Be careful before signing up for a credit card with your spouse. It may cause a fight. A study released Wednesday found one out of five people who share a credit card say it has sparked a fight with the other account holder.

Aug 25, 2008, What is NOT in your FICO score

FICO scores consider a wide range of information on your credit report. However, it is also important to understand what what they do NOT consider. Recent research shows that many Americans are still unaware that factors such as race, color, religion, national origin, sex and marital status are legally prohibited from inclusion in credit scores.

Aug 21, 2008, 1 in 4 college students graduate with $5K credit card debt

About one out of every four college students leave school with upwards of $5,000 of credit card debt, according to a survey released Wednesday. An online survey of 3,631 college graduates found 23 percent of respondents finished college with more than $5,000 worth of credit card debt. One out of every ten of the respondents reported leaving college with more than $10,000 worth of credit card debt.

Aug 20, 2008, Americans not so worried about credit cards

The economy is tightening and food and gas prices are climbing, but only 7 percent of Americans say they worry a lot about credit card debt.

Aug 19, 2008, New fraud protection for credit card users

Visa and eight U.S. and Canadian lenders have launched a pilot program to alert credit card holders almost immediately when they may be the victims of fraud.

Aug 18, 2008, Credit card debt rates high on list of taboo subjects

Talk about taboo subjects. It seems most Americans would rather discuss their love lives with somebody they just met than how much they owe on their credit cards. They would also rather talk about their salaries, mortgage or rent payments, health problems or religious or political views, anything it seems but credit card debt, a recent poll shows.

Aug 14, 2008, FCAC Encourages Consumers to Understand Credit Card Fees

The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) today released the latest update to its Credit Cards and You comparison tool. This tool compares over 200 credit cards, allowing consumers to easily select the one that best suits their needs based on annual fees, interest rates, rewards, benefits and more.

Aug 14, 2008, Three benefits of business credit cards

Owning a credit card for your business comes with certain advantages. In fact, as your business grows using one can become necessary for saving you both time and money. Here from Debbie Dragon at Entrepeneuer.com are some benefits of a business credit card

Aug 12, 2008, Best Credit Card Perks And Where They Are

You are driving less, you have cut your grocery bill, you are doing everything you can think of to save money.

Well, it may be time to turn your attention to that rewards credit card in your wallet. This is a great time to reevaluate whether your rewards card is really doing all it can for you.

Aug 12, 2008, Largest Federal Identity Theft Case In History Indicts 11 International Participants

After three years of ongoing investigation, The Department of Justice has issued indictments on what is believed to be the largest retail hacking scheme ever. Eleven individuals from around the globe allegedly stole over 40 million credit card numbers.

Aug 6, 2008, Thumbs up for FICO revision

Fair Isaac Corp is revising the formula for its widely used FICO credit score for the second time in a year. This time, the company seems to have gotten it right.

Jul 30, 2008, New Study Shows Declining Credit Card Use Among Americans Due to Economic Downturn

Research Disproves Mainstream Assumption That Americans Are Charging Basic Goods

Jul 28, 2008, Making Peace With Your Plastic

In tough economic times like these, reliance on credit cards tends to grow, as evidenced by the 7 percent annual rise in US household credit card debt in May. But it is in times like these that we should take more care than ever.

Jul 28, 2008, Credit Card Company Abuses Continue to Fleece Consumers

Consumers have plenty of reasons to be disgusted with credit card companies these days. Without warning, banks are tripling a cardholder's interest rate, to levels as high as 32 percent. Late fees, which averaged about $10 a few years ago, have risen as high as $39. Mailed statements seem timed to give the consumer the fewest days possible to return a payment by the due date.

Jul 22, 2008, AmEx Results Show Pain Spreading To High End

Even the wealthy are showing signs of credit problems. Increasing numbers of American Express card holders defaulted in the second quarter, tarnishing company earnings. AmEx issued a thumping profits warning and shares dipped sharply.

Jul 19, 2008, Credit Card Fee Bill Passes House Committee

Legislation that would enable greater oversight of credit card interchange fees cleared an important hurdle, as the House Judiciary Committee voted to pass the bill on to the full House for a vote.

Jul 19, 2008, Simple Tips to Keep Your Credit Score Clean

Keep your credit score from taking a major hit with these important, practical tips.

Jul 15, 2008, Online applications from subprimers soar

ComScore, a leader in measuring the digital world, today released a study on the online banking and credit industry, which showed that the number of online credit card applications submitted by subprime applicants (defined as individuals having the equivalent of a FICO creditworthiness score of 660 or less) increased by 30 percent in Q1 2008 versus the same period last year. Meanwhile, the number of applications submitted by prime applicants (defined as individuals having the equivalent of a FICO score greater than 660) declined by 16 percent.

Jul 13, 2008, Fed wants your input on credit card reform

I cannot remember the last time the Federal Reserve asked my opinion on credit cards or anything else. But ordinary people have an extraordinary opportunity to tell the monetary policy makers how they feel about credit card reform.

Jul 6, 2008, Shell Oil Credit Cards

Shell oil credit cards offer wonderful savings for personal and business use. Find out the truth and save now.

Jul 5, 2008, Six tips for keeping your credit limits intact

Funny things have been happening lately. You tried to put a family dinner on your American Express card, but were denied. Over the credit limit. Embarrassing. Shocking, in fact. You thought you had a nice five figure cushion.

Jul 5, 2008, Home values fed spiraling card debt

During the housing boom, from mid-2001 to early 2006, banks raised card limits at a blistering pace, in part because of a surge in home equity, much of it now vanished. As home prices ballooned, banks also plied customers with a record number of offers to open new card accounts. Then they guided card borrowers to tap into rising home equity to pay off card balances, putting their homes at risk.

Jun 30, 2008, IRS may get reports on credit card payments

Congress is on the verge of requiring payment card processors to tell the Internal Revenue Service how much money merchants receive through credit card and debit card transactions.

The Bush administration thinks this kind of third party reporting of revenue would encourage more businesses to report their income accurately.

Jun 29, 2008, Give consumers tools to combat credit card giants

More and more Americans are turning to their credit cards to help pay bills, buy groceries and simply make ends meet in this troubled economy. As a result, consumer credit card debt is now closing in on the $1 trillion mark, double the amount held in 1996. This trillion dollar tower of unsecured debt is looming large above our troubled economy and threatening to worsen an already perilous credit crisis.

Instead of waiting for the Fed to act or for the next shoe to drop in the credit crisis, Congress should take swift action to reform major credit card industry abuses and improve consumer protections for cardholders.

Jun 26, 2008, House of Cards

If you thought the housing crisis was bad, hold on. You aint seen nothing yet. You and your credit card have become key players in the highly unstable financial crunch. It has brought us to a brink not seen since just before the Great Depression.

Jun 22, 2008, Credit scores drop 10 times faster in South Florida

The wave of foreclosures sweeping across South Florida is taking more than consumers' homes. It is battering their credit scores so low that they could takes years to mend.

Jun 21, 2008, Best Rewards Credit Card Revealed Through Research

Discover the best rewards credit card for cash back, airmiles, gas rewards and more.

Jun 20, 2008, Credit Card Companies Assist Identity Theft

Credit card companies are knowingly contributing to the identity theft epidemic by making it easy for people with access to patient records to apply for and receive credit using stolen information. Hospital workers, lab technicians and even janitors with as little as a stolen social security number are able to manipulate the automated systems used by such industry giants as Bank of America, Citibank and Chase to apply for and receive credit issued under the name of an ill or incapacitated patient.

Jun 20, 2008, Beware of the dark side of reward cards

Rewards cards are not for everyone. They usually have a higher interest rate, so they only make sense for people who pay off their balance in full each month.

Jun 15, 2008, Father Knows Best About Finances

Dads, this is supposed to be your day. A day to relax, to put aside jobs and soak up appreciation for all you have done for your families.

But I have a job for you.

If you are like most fathers, you have done a good job of feeding your family and providing other essentials, but you may have missed one. Everyone in your household, your wife and your children, needs to know how to handle finances so they thrive in the future.

And, according to research, you are likely to be the best equipped person in the household to get them onto the right course.

Jun 14, 2008, Some Dentists Push Medical Credit Cards on Patients

California legal aid attorneys say they are seeing a rise in dental debt cases in which dentists urge low-income and elderly patients to apply for medical credit cards to cover treatments they cannot afford.

Jun 12, 2008, Health Credit Cards Add Insult to Injury

High-interest credit-card debt is even hurting consumers where they go to get rid of the pain, That is, the hospital, doctors office and dentists chair.

Lenders like Citigroup, Chase, Capital One, and General Electrics financial services unit, GE Money, are offering patients up to $40,000 in medical credit lines with offers that seem enticing. However, consumers must be aware of the costs hidden in the fine print.

Jun 11, 2008, Gas station owners say they are hurt by credit card service fees

Customers swipe their cards at the pump, but gas station owners say card companies are swiping their profits by charging a percentage on credit card sales no matter how high the price of gas goes and how thin the stations profit margin gets.

Jun 8, 2008, Limits on credit cards for gas purchase more prevalent with high prices

Some drivers with big sport utility vehicles or large trucks may find it harder to fill up at the gas pump, and it is not because they cannot afford to. Rising gasoline prices have affected how much drivers can dispense when paying with certain credit cards at the pump, said Chris Newton, president of the Texas Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association.

Jun 5, 2008, 7 Tips On Using Credit Card Rewards Programs And Avoiding Rip Offs

Whether it is because of frequent flier miles that are impossible to redeem, overly complicated terms and conditions or reward credit cards with high APRs, credit card reward programs are usually a rip off, according to CNN Money.

May 28, 2008, Getting squeezed by credit card companies

Card issuers use all sorts of tactics to wrestle every penny out of customers. Here is what you need to know.

May 12, 2008, Information tags along everywhere you go

Do not take a hammer to your new U.S. passport. And do not drill a hole in that credit card or zap it in the microwave.

Experts say these measures, recommended on some extreme Web sites as ways to safeguard privacy and security, are unecessary for people concerned about the growing prevelance of Radio Frequency Identification tags.

The tiny silicon chips are embedded in credit cards, passports and other everyday items and can transmit data on where you go, what you buy and even who you are.

Apr 28, 2008, See ID phrase on back of credit cards does not deter fraud

Where did the practice originate in which people write See ID on the backs of their credit cards instead of signing them?

Apr 25, 2008, How To Keep Your Credit Cards Safe

An illegal spending spree landed a woman from Charleston in jail. Police said Ashley Fouty used a stolen credit card at least 10 different stores.

But you do not have to be a victim of this too. There are some things you can do to keep your cards protected.

Apr 25, 2008, Common Financial Mistakes Can Be Easily Cured

Missing a car payment, a wallet full of credit cards, ignoring your companys 401 k plan. These are just a few of the financial mistakes people make on a regular basis.

But they're also among the easiest to fix.

Apr 16, 2008, Prepaid cards limit exposure when shopping online

In a Moscow apartment rented under a false name, the systems administrator of a small organized crime group sits before racks of computers minding the store. Joined together by what is called a botnet, the systems are connected to the Internet.

Each of them is logged into a particular online gambling site that is located a world away in the Caribbean. Each computer is logged into the casino under its own bogus account that was opened using a credit card acquired on the last trip of the ringleader Boris. These are credit card numbers that belong to people who are not yet aware their information has been stolen.

Apr 16, 2008, More landlords accepting rent payments by credit card

While everything from Chevrolets to stamps can be put on plastic, there is one place people can still get rebuffed. The landlords office.

For many people, the only time each month they even dust off their checkbooks is when the rent is due. But while acceptance is hardly universal, a growing number of landlords allow paying rent by credit card.

Financial experts hasten to add that charging rent and related expenses is not for everybody. There is the risk of overextending oneself for a vital expense.

Apr 14, 2008, Rising fuel costs pit airlines against credit card companies

Airlines face slim profit margins. Their high fixed costs of labor, equipment and fuel leave them few cost cutting options. So in the face of sky high fuel costs that seemingly have no limits, many airlines have identified that credit card fees are their largest controllable cost. Airlines are encouraging their customers to pay with alternate payment solutions, which offer them significantly lower payment fees than traditional credit cards. Airlines earn billions of dollars each year from their own cobranded credit cards, which offer customers frequent flyer miles and other rewards for purchases. So who wins here?

Apr 2, 2008, Credit Card rewards turn to health care

How would you like to save money on everything from prescription drugs to doctor visits? There is a new way to get discounts, even cash, to cover some of your healthcare costs. What is the secret you should know?

That secret is credit cards, but not just any credit card. These new cards enable you to earn everything from money to cover healthcare expenses, to discounts on medicine.

Mar 29, 2008, Closing Credit Card Dings Credit Score

Most savvy consumers know about the FICO score. That three digit number that companies use to determine interest rates. Even though Fair Isaac has published the main factors that affect FICO credit scores, many still wonder what will happen to their credit scores if they cancel credit cards or sign up for new ones.

Mar 24, 2008, Know Your Score. Tips on How to Improve Your Credit Score

Should you decide to use a lending institution, your power to borrow money is linked to your credit score. Do you know yours? Stephanie AuWerter, editor of Smartmoney.com, joined us with some advice on learning and improving your score.

In times like these, a good score is more important than ever. Because of the ongoing credit crisis, lenders have pulled back. Whether you are looking for a mortgage, a credit card or a small business loan, the standards are now tougher. If you want to get the best rates, you need a great score. FICO scores range from 300 to 850 and you should shoot to have a score of 750 or higher. The good news is you can take steps to increase your score fairly quickly. Step number one is to know where you stand and you can pull your score at myFico.com.

Mar 22, 2008, Low Fixed Rate Credit Cards

Wonder if low fixed rate credit cards can really save you money? Discover the power of low fixed rates and start saving now.