Credit Card News News and Advice

Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. announced today that the majority of the government’s $700 billion bailout plan would not go to buying up troubled mortgage-backed securities as presumed, rather to fund increased consumer and business credit including credit cards, auto loans, and student loans.

Last week, Chase announced a newest variation of the popular Chase Freedom Credit Card. The new Chase Freedom card offers 0% on purchases for 12 months, a competitive 9.99% regular APR, 3% cash back on groceries, gas, and fast food for the first six months, plus 1% cash back on all purchases, and more.

Welcome to the second Carnival of Consumer Credit. As we continue to deal with a tough economy and tight credit market, bloggers continue to offer insight into everything from managing our credit score and getting out of debt to finding some of the last remaining good credit card deals out there. Enjoy the great tips and advice in this week’s carnival, or learn how you can submit to future carnivals.

Welcome to the first ever Carnival of Consumer Credit! This carnival comes at an important time, when credit is on everybody’s minds. The role credit plays in the lives of both consumers and businesses worldwide is changing. We can expect credit to be less readily available not only in the coming months, but in the coming decades. Knowing this fact, it’s more important than ever that we learn how credit works and how we can make it work for us—and not against us.

There’s a new kind of plastic in town. Prepaid debit cards are becoming increasingly more common on college campuses and elsewhere as credit card companies look for ways to add new customers without extending credit to risky consumers with no credit history or past credit problems. Prepaid debit cards solve that problem for card issuers, but they give consumers few benefits at all.

Credit card companies love it when you pay them late. They can charge you fees of up to $39 and even double your interest rate for up to a year. But paying your credit card late isn’t just expensive, it will hurt your credit score and influence your future ability to get credit. Fortunately, however, your credit score may not go down every time you pay late. Here’s why.

The new Delta Reserve Credit Card by American Express gives Delta SkyMiles frequent flyers a whole new world of credit card benefits.

For small business owners, the tight credit market can mean more than delaying the purchase of a new car or home—it can make or break your business. Banks are shrinking business lines of credit and saying “no” to new business loans—even for borrowers with impeccable credit loans. In these tough times, business credit cards can offer business owners, entrepreneurs, and even freelancers or professionals who travel for work the large credit lines and low rates they need.

CNN reports that consumer borrower fell in August for the first time since 1998.

Congress voted last month to pass the so-called Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights. The law would change some arguably deceptive credit card industry tactics in favor of consumers. For example, credit cards could no longer raise interest rates just because you make a late payment on another loan or credit card, and they would have to stop applying payments to balances with the lowest APR first. We think this bill is great–although this Wall Street Journal article raises an interesting argument against the Cardholders’ Bill of Rights.

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