It doesn't seem to make sense: The Fed just announced a plan to lower long-term interest rates and is aiming to keep short-term interest rates at historic lows through mid-2013. So what are we to make of the news that credit card APRs just hit a record high?
While the Credit CARD Act cut down on a lot of the shady marketing practices credit card issuers used to target college students, there are still a plethora of cards out there for the campus crowd, and wading through them can be a chore. We identify some of the cards that offer the best value for students.
It's been two years since Congress passed credit card reform. Since then, it's gotten mixed reviews on how effective it is in protecting consumers.
What’s in your wallet? Hopefully, not one of these credit cards.
When the first of several credit card reforms began taking place two years ago, the response from more than a few consumers amounted to: “thanks, but no thanks.” Soon after the legislation passed, millions of credit card accounts were summarily closed, and interest rates and fees soared. For a while there, the post-reform credit card [...]
A small portion of Bank of America credit card customers will soon be hit with all-new $59 annual fees. Who, exactly, will be assessed the fees? For the most part, it’s the customers who will find it the most difficult to walk away from their accounts.
It’s not just your imagination. Credit card offers really have gotten more complicated, and a new study proves just that.
The new credit card regulations passed over the last 18 months not only caused their share of unintended consequences (soaring interest rates, for one), they also had their share of loopholes that left consumers vulnerable. Now, the Federal Reserve is trying to close one loophole being taken advantage of by so-called “fee harvesters,” a particular [...]
Here’s another indication of how, despite months of rolling out new credit card reform regulations, the current card landscape is a lot like the old one, just with a tweaked set of tricks and fees that obey the letter of the law while still milking consumers for revenues. One of the new laws puts a [...]
Earlier this week, the final set of credit card reform rules went into effect, ending (at least for now) a year-plus-long journey in which the credit card landscape has changed in many ways. Some of the changes were intended by the reformers crafting the new rules, including that consumers now must be given ample time [...]
When applying for a credit card, the only way to truly get a handle on balance transfer and annual fees, introductory and regular APRs, and the ins and outs of reward programs is to wade through pages of fine print—and even then, it’s sometimes impossible to figure out what to expect.
