Credit Cards

The Top 5 Flexible Travel Rewards Credit Cards

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Memorial Day is right around the corner, and summer vacations are top of mind. How are you going to pay for your trip? Credit card issuers are constantly piling on perks to attract new customers, and those with good credit who play their cards right can score big bonuses—which will help them afford their next [...]

The Fee That Credit Card Issuers Are Leaving Behind

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Banks, the thinking goes, have never met a fee they didn’t like. Yet one credit card charge that has been standard for years—the “foreign transaction” or “foreign currency” fee, which tacks on an extra 3% or so to every hotel stay, meal, or tchotchke purchased outside the U.S.—is slowly but surely being dropped by more [...]

What President Obama Wants You To Tell Your Kids About Money — and When

A useful new government website has just gone live, offering easy teaching points for parents who want to help their kids grow up knowing a thing or two about compound interest and 19 other key financial concepts.

We’re Finally Paying Our Bills On Time: Can We Stick With It?

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The number of retail credit card accounts in late-stage delinquency is at a six-year low, according to Fitch Ratings, and charge-offs are down 38% from a little over two years ago. But will this new stability last?

U.S. Households Still Digging Out of Recession-Related Debt

After the recession, many Americans began cutting back and slowly chipping away at their household debt. Unfortunately, this noble effort seems to have tapered off, according to a new University of Michigan study. In fact, according to the study, one in every five households now owes more in credit cards, medical bills, student loans and other debt [...]

More Americans Have FICO Scores of 800+

Could this be a light at the end of the credit crisis tunnel? According to new research from Fair Isaac Corporation, the company responsible for FICO scores, the percentage of Americans with top-notch credit scores is the best it’s been since 2008. In addition, the number of people in the bottom tier of the credit [...]

Alumni Credit Card? First, Lose the Greedy Pitch

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Colleges are slamming graduating students with credit card offers that sound sincere but amount to a hard sell. Yes, the right card will help build a good credit score. But watch out for the accompanying advice on how to go about it.

Should Colleges Earn Money From Prepaid Student Debit Cards?

Prepaid debit cards are becoming the de facto debit cards for a growing number of people these days. This is partially because issuers are promoting the heck out of them and partially because people, especially younger people, view them as preferable to a traditional bank account. As a result, a small number of colleges are [...]

Mysterious Credit Card Charges: Why You Need to Check Your Bills

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Do you read your credit card bill? Really look at it? Crooks are counting on that not happening.

How an Ad Will Persuade You to Talk to Your Kids About Money

The Talk

Coming soon to a magazine, newspaper or Web page near you: emotionally charged public-service messages designed to jolt parents into having “the talk” with their kids. Not that talk. The tougher one about how to budget, save and otherwise manage money.

More Americans ‘Flunk’ Themselves in Personal Finance

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Financial advisers have a saying: When the stock market is going up, everyone looks like a genius. These days, folks aren’t feeling so smart—and not just about their investments, but about many aspects of their personal finances.