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Credit

What Size Bonus Would Convince You to Sign Up for a Credit Card?

by Luke Landes

As a number of Consumerism Commentary visitors have mentioned over the past few months, it’s getting harder to find good credit card deals, including 0 percent APR no-fee balance transfer offers and worthwhile sign-up bonuses. Other commenters who have been successful milking credit card companies with balance arbitrage strategies have slowed down their pursuit with fewer ... Continue reading this article…

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Unconfirmed: Emigrant Direct Drops Cash Back MasterCard

by Luke Landes

Jim submitted this news today, but I’ve been unable to find a confirmation online. Perhaps holders of the Emigrant Direct MasterCard have received this announcement. The party is over on the Emigrant Direct Savings account and Mastercard program. As the Fed has cut interest rates, so too has Emigrant Direct (2.75 percent as of 4/19.2008). What ... Continue reading this article…

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10 Steps to Break the Credit Card Habit

by Luke Landes

If you’re a Type A credit card user, chances are you know it whether or not you are willing to admit it. If you can answer yes to these questions, then a lifestyle change is in order. Do you pay interest fees when you send in your credit card payment? Have you ever paid your ... Continue reading this article…

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You Can’t Have Too Much Available Credit

by Smithee

You’ve probably been concerned at one time or another with your credit worthiness: the somewhat squishy way that lenders determine whether you’re going to repay, for example, a home loan. I say “squishy” because ultimately, these decisions are made by human beings in a temporal landscape. We bought our house in June 2007, and if ... Continue reading this article…

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Balance Transfer Fees on Chase Credit Cards

by Luke Landes

Credit cards simply are no longer offering the enticing deals in order to lure customers. Even though credit card companies have been willing to offer strong cash back rebates and introductory 0 percent APR deals, they’ve done so knowing that they can make up the loss through interest rates from defaulted customers and interchange fees. It ... Continue reading this article…

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New Bonus Points and Miles Offers on CitiBank Credit Cards

by Luke Landes

If you’re looking for bonus points or miles with your credit cards (and I would only suggest doing so if you pay your credit card balances in full every month and if you travel frequently), CitiBank is launching several new offers. Citi PremierPass® Elite Level 20,000 bonus points after $600 in purchases made within 3 ... Continue reading this article…

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Balance Transfer Fees on American Express Credit Cards

by Luke Landes

Credit cards are tightening their standards and no longer being generous with low promotional interest rates on balance transfers. In fact, many cards have balance transfer fees even with their promotional offers. This information is not always immediately apparent. I’m assembling a list of current balance transfer fees by credit card. The other day, I ... Continue reading this article…

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Balance Transfer Fees on CitiBank Credit Cards

by Luke Landes

Updated July 2nd to reflect additional removal of the no-fee offers. There was a time when credit card companies offered nice balance transfer offers, so savvy manipulators could earn interest on savings obtained from credit. While being charged a 0 percent introductory rate by the credit card, they’d be earning 5 percent or so in their savings ... Continue reading this article…

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Survey: Americans are Financially Illiterate

by Luke Landes

The new bill supporting financial literacy education introduced in the Senate recently may be a response to a recent survey that quantified apparent American ignorance in matters of money. The survey presented 1,000 people with a hypothetical scenario about credit card debt and asked them to compute how long it would take to pay it ... Continue reading this article…

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Guide to Chase Credit Cards

by Luke Landes

If forced to categorize, I’ve found that there are two main types of credit card users. Type A credit card users use debt to buy what they cannot afford and often pay much more than they need to thanks to interest. On the other side of the spectrum, Type B credit card users take advantage ... Continue reading this article…

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Update: Guide to Citibank Credit Cards

by Luke Landes

Thanks to the recent reduction in the federal funds interest rate, debtors have reason to celebrate. Interest rates on credit cards pegged to the prime rate are decreasing. CitiBank recently reset the APRs on a number of their credit cards. Citi® Dividend Platinum Select® for College Students Now 13.99 percent – 21.99 percent on purchases. The Citi ... Continue reading this article…

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Chase Commuter Cash: Earn $10 for Every $150 Spent

by Sasha

This weekend I visited Manhattan with a friend to avail myself of a fancy, bargain-priced Restaurant Week lunch. If you consider a $24.07 lunch a bargain, that is. It is three courses, and generally tasty ones at that. Anyway, during my visit, I spied the following offer posted in a subway car: If you have ... Continue reading this article…

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15 Credit Cards With the Best Rewards

by Luke Landes

Looking for the best credit cards? Read this updated article. Liz Pulliam Weston asked credit card experts for their recommendations for making the most of the rewards that the issuing companies offer. I’ve done well with my Citi Dividend Platinum Select and now my American Express Blue Cash for Business, but it’s interesting to see ... Continue reading this article…

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Bonus Offers for American Express Credit Cards

by Luke Landes

For anyone looking to apply for a new credit card there are a few offers from American Express with sign-up bonuses. American Express® Premier Rewards Gold Card The American Express Premier Rewards Gold Card is offering 25,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $2,000 in your first 3 months of Card Membership. Other card features ... Continue reading this article…

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Chase TravelPlus Visa Card: 0% APR for 12 Months

by Luke Landes

I’ve updated several recent credit card articles to include information on the Chase TravelPlus Visa Card.

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Credit Cards for Balance Transfers: Low Promotional Interest Rates and Fees

by Luke Landes

Last week, following the list of 79 credit cards offering 0 percent APR, John made the following point: Awesome list Flexo. However all of them are not devoid of Balance Transfer (BT) fees. That is something to watch for especially when the BT fees are not capped. Would be great if this list could be further ... Continue reading this article…

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79 Cards Offering 0% APR on Purchases, Balance Transfers, or Cash Advances

by Luke Landes

Any indented text is excerpted directly from the issuer’s marketing. Here is an update to an article I posted about four months ago. If you’re looking for 0 percent APR offers, here are 79 of them. Warning! Taking advantage of credit card companies may be fun and profitable, but it is dangerous if you don’t know ... Continue reading this article…

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Reader Question: Credit Freeze Worthwhile?

by Luke Landes

TV Girl wrote into Consumerism Commentary (and a few other blogs, so I expect to see responses elsewhere) with the following question about credit freezes: I’ve been listening to Dave Ramsey talk on his radio show about freezing your credit report, but I haven’t heard much (if anything) about this issue in the pf blogosphere. ... Continue reading this article…

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Credit Card Jacked Up Interest Rate: Cancel the Card?

by Luke Landes

Kimberly Lankford from Kiplinger recently handled a question from a reader. Capital One raised her interest rate from 9.9 percent to 15.9 percent on her account, and she’s wondering what her options are. You could decline the rate change and continue to pay off your balance at the old rate… Capital One would then close your account ... Continue reading this article…

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8 Secret Credit Scores You Don’t Know About

by Luke Landes

I’ve mentioned before that your income (or reported income) comes into play when you are offered credit. But wait! Your income isn’t considered when Fair Isaac Corporation calculates your credit score. We were discussing qualifying for mortgages at the time, but recent article from Liz Pulliam Weston confirms that credit card companies use some scoring ... Continue reading this article…

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