If you are a credit card holder nowadays, it almost seems like you are holding a financial ticking time bomb. As you might have noticed, the whole consumer-sphere is abuzz with the recent controversies regarding credit cards and the credit companies who issue them.
A lot of the buzz that is going around is about the widespread practice among credit card companies of increasing interest rates as well as fees while introducing new fees as well. Because of these changes, many credit card...
Last May, President Barack Obama signed into law the credit card bill. The credit card bill introduces several regulations that aim to help credit card holders get fairer treatment from their credit card companies. The bill contains regulations that will stop the arbitrary raising of interests and fees, minimize the offering of credit to high risk consumers such as those below 18 and force credit card companies to have clearer and more easily understood languages on their credit card agreements...
Continue readingThe credit card bill's passage may have provided some hope to consumers over the way that their credit card companies were charging and billing them but the changes are still several long months away. In the meantime, credit card companies are continuing their objectionable practices and are even making them worse.
As the credit card bill's activation comes nearer and nearer, credit card companies are beginning to get worried that they may not be able to make a profit as well as they used to...
Understandably, American consumers are now scrambling for every available means of maintaining their finances. A large debt is a huge drain on the monthly income and is therefore something which should be settled as quickly as possible. Skipping on debt payment is an option and, indeed many consumers carrying debts too big to handle are opting for it. However, in the long run, it is a disastrous solution. The best way to get rid of debt is to pay it off. The problem is that, in the current...
Continue readingAt the moment, seeing your credit card interest rates rise could be the worst possible thing. Unfortunately, this is exactly what is going to happen to millions of credit cardholders. In fact, it has already begun. If you are one of the credit cardholders who carry a balance on your credit card and your current interest rate is below 10%, you may soon see your credit card interest rates jump to double figures.
Major credit card companies American Express, Citibank, HSBC, Capital One and Bank...
The credit card industry has been quite loud in expressing their fears over the negative effects that the passage of the credit card bill will bring. While consumers are hailing the credit card bill as their long awaited relief from oppressive credit industry practices, the credit industry insists that the bill stifle credit availability for consumers instead.
Last week, President Barack Obama presented his plans for establishing a separate agency to monitor and safeguard the rights of...
Amidst all the shouting of credit cardholders over how they are being fleeced by credit card companies, it is sometimes difficult to see that credit card companies themselves are suffering in the current credit card crisis.
Credit cardholders, both good and bad, have a huge effect on how a credit card company flourishes or flounders in the current economy. In the case of bad credit cardholders, the cause and effect are quite obvious to see. Bad credit cardholders cost credit card companies a...
The way you look at your credit card probably says a great deal about how much credit balance you carry. If you are one of the lucky few who have remained debt free even in this stifling credit atmosphere, then you are probably someone who spends time to look into your bill and decipher what all the fine print means. If, however, you are one of the many American consumers who are carrying large debts on their credit cards, then there is a large possibility that you are among the American...
Continue readingWhile the credit card crisis continues, credit cardholders are facing numerous financial challenges ranging from sky high interest rates and fees to credit card limits dropping as fast as they pay their card balances. It seems that, with the profiteering-prohibitive credit card bill looming up for activation, credit card companies are pulling out all stops to generate as much revenue as they can and to cover their exposure to the current financial crisis. So far, this has meant raising interest...
Continue readingAs the economic recession continues, credit cardholders are getting weighed down by credit card debt more and more. Rising interest rates and fees threaten to make it heavier still. However, a curious budding practice among credit card companies may be the answer to credit cardholders' problems.
While credit cardholders are worrying about their individual credit card debts, credit card companies are also in dire straits financially themselves. In March, revolving credit was recorded at a...
As more and more American consumers see the risks of using credit cards for their purchases, debit cards are fast becoming the plastic of choice in the U.S. As a matter of fact, the switch from credit cards to debit cards has been a growing trend among consumers for a few years now.
In most cases, debit cards have many similarities to credit cards. They are essentially similar in form. They are supported by Mastercard and Visa. They also offer the same convenience of paying with plastic...
When the credit card bill becomes active, students, specifically college students, are going to find that getting a credit card will no longer be as easy as it is right now. That's because the credit card bill will be regulating how credit card companies market their products to the under-21 market.
The legislation is grounded on findings that, among credit cardholders, college students are one of the most burdened with credit debt. So much so that, by the time that they graduate, they are...