Credit Card Rules Must Change

Posted on September 9, 2008
Filed Under Credit Card News, Credit Rating, Debt Consolidation, Education, Legal/Government, rates | 3 Comments

If you want an idea of how angry consumers are at credit card companies, get a load of the complaints e-mailed to the Federal Reserve about efforts to prohibit unfair practices by credit card companies. “I have been the victim of credit card companies who have subjectively raised my interest rates,” said Jon C. Kubic of Thornton, Colo. “I have never missed a payment or failed to pay at least my minimum payment.” Read more

Credit Card Rate Report

Posted on August 29, 2008
Filed Under Credit Card News, rates | Leave a Comment

Annual percentage rates for new credit card offers dipped lower this week, according to the CreditCards.com Weekly Credit Card Rate Report. Banks tweaked some offer rates this week, while minutes from the Federal Reserve’s August meeting suggest its next change to monetary policy will take interest rates higher. Of the nine credit card categories tracked by CreditCards.com, four declined and one rose.

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Credit Card Direct Mail Offers Decline

Posted on August 19, 2008
Filed Under American Express, CitiBank, Credit Card News, Discover, Discover Card | Leave a Comment

The number of credit card offers mailed to Americans has declined for the third consecutive quarter, according to new research from Mintel Comperemedia. Estimated acquisition mail volume for credit cards fell nearly 8% from Q1 2008 to Q2 2008 (from 1.67 billion to 1.54 billion). Read more

Help Is On The Way for Credit Card Debt

Posted on August 9, 2008
Filed Under Bankruptcy, Debt Consolidation, Useful Links | 1 Comment

Credit card debt is a major problem in America—everyone knows that. In fact, credit card debt is perhaps one of the most common—and worst—kind of debt that there is. Why is it worse? Because of its much higher interest rates. Couple that with the fact that thanks to today’s economy, high gas prices (which increase the cost of practically everything else) are forcing more and more of us to use our credit cards just to make ends meet. Read more

Frugality to remake the U.S. economy and American life — Part III.

Posted on July 29, 2008
Filed Under Bad Credit, Bankruptcy, Credit Card News, Credit Rating | Leave a Comment

Refills. Retailers are doing what they can to woo these new, economy-minded consumers. In April, Starbucks began offering new rewards on its stored-value cards, including free refills on hot and iced brewed coffee and complimentary syrup and soy milk. “This was an opportunity…to show Starbucks can be a part of people’s lives even when budgets are tight,” Brad Stevens, vice president of Starbucks’s customer relationship management, says. Read more

Frugality to remake the U.S. economy and American life — Part II.

Posted on July 19, 2008
Filed Under Bad Credit, Bankruptcy, Credit Card News, Credit Rating | Leave a Comment

Examples of the mind-set shift abound. Large-vehicle sales declined 5.5 percent during the first six months of 2008, while compact-car sales rose 33 percent, according to J. D. Power & Associates. Piaggio, the company that makes Vespas, reports that scooter sales in June were up 146 percent over a year earlier. Even daily lattes have been cut; in July, Starbucks announced that it was closing 600 stores in response to reduced consumer traffic. The NPD Group has found that the number of meals made at home has been steadily rising since 2001. “We’re coming back to the home,” says Harry Balzer, vice president of the firm. Read more

Frugality to remake the U.S. economy and American life — Part I.

Posted on July 9, 2008
Filed Under Bad Credit, Bankruptcy, Credit Card News, Credit Rating | Leave a Comment

When it comes to longevity, few royals can top America’s King Consumer. For more than four decades, our shopaholic nation has shown an insatiable desire to spend until our credit cards melt. And throughout this era, consumer spending has, well, consumed a greater and greater share of our total economy. Only twice since 1965, despite half a dozen recessions, have Americans spent less in a year than the previous one. Indeed, it often seems that we have defined ourselves by our ability to buy supersized everything, from McMansions to tricked-out SUVs to 60-inch flat-screen televisions—all enabled by decades of cheap credit. Read more

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