Credit Card Blog

Here’s a video clip from an NBC news broadcast about how this New Jersey guy never pays for late fees or high interest with his credit card accounts. (He calls himself the Credit Card King) They actually put him “to the test” by having him talk to the customer service reps of some girl’s credit card account- he ends up getting late fees removed from several years in the past and lowering an extremely high interest rate on popular credit cards issued from Orchard Bank and Bank of America.

It’s all in how you talk to the reps, it seems. Your tone of voice, the choice of wording, and what to say if they at first refuse your request. Worth taking a look at, and then making a few phone calls to get better rates!

Equifax followed in the footsteps of Trans Union by announcing that it will start allowing customers to place a “freeze” on their credit files. This precaution, which becomes available on October 15th, is designed to keep thieves from obtaining new lines of credit or taking out loans using stolen identities. These credit freezes are valid in every state.

Freezing one’s credit report could be beneficial for those who seldom use their credit, but who worry that someone else might. Both Equifax and Trans Union charge an annual fee of $10 for the freeze, and will likely charge additional fees to unlock the credit file again for legitimate uses. Those who can prove they’ve been the victim of identity theft can get a freeze for no charge.

But before you rush to freeze your own report, you should know that Experian is still holding out. Hopefully they will jump on the bandwagon; until they do, consumers are only partially protected from identity theft. How effective is a credit freeze if only two of the three credit bureaus offer it? Not very.

Visa, Mastercard and American Express have something in common (other than the obvious, of course): Steve Case is calling them out.

The former AOL CEO has taken aim at traditional card companies. His weapon of choice? A little something called the Revolution Card, courtesy of recently launched Revolution Money, Inc.

This new company’s board of directors reads like a Who’s Who of former CEOs: David Pottruck from Charles Schwab; David Golden from JP Morgan; Franklin Raines from Fannie Mae; and Russell Hogg from MasterCard International. Once these great minds got together, they came up with a payment service aimed at “flipping the industry on its head”.

This new service promises to ease the financial burden of online merchants by throwing a financial one-two punch: a high-tech credit card with merchant fees 75% below the norm, and a free Internet-based payment network to rival the untouchable Paypal.

In addition, the PIN-based Revolution Card was designed with identity theft in mind. It carries no name or account number, and customers can add an additional layer of security by assigning temporary PINs when dealing with unfamiliar merchants.

Revolution Money dreams big, but will it really change the way we do business online? That remains to be seen. Either way, cardholders should take heart: this coup is big enough to make the other card companies sit up and take notice. And when those companies start scrambling to stay competitive, you’ll know you’ve got the upper hand.

The Barbie doll has been around forever it seems- and while she’s evolved over the years and updated her fashion with all of the latest trends- she’s become a Doctor, an Astronaut, a Lawyer, a Vet… owns a hot pink porsche and of course- the dream house- no one really stopped to think how Barbie paid for all her wonderful clothes and toys! That is, until now. The Cool Shoppin’ Barbie now comes with a must-have accessory- the purse, containing her very own credit card, complete with the MasterCard logo.

What’s Barbie going to buy with her credit card? Anything her little heart desires of course, since Mattel and MasterCard probably haven’t figured out how to mail Barbie a statement demanding payment each month! In order to give Barbie a place to shop, you can of course purchase the Barbie Boutique- complete with a cash register that opens and plays a “Credit Approved!” recording.

Remember the classic Monopoly game from Parker Brothers? Counting out bills and getting all nervous when you only had the small bills left and you still had to make it around past your opponents hotel properties before you’d make any money! Well, those days are just about over. Monopoly is issuing all new versions of the famous board game, and this time- there will be none of the multi-colored play money. Instead, players each receive a plastic Visa card, and the game includes a “credit card reader” to help you get your paycheck direct deposited and to make payments when you land on someone else’s property or want to purchase your own.

Although it may not be ethical, some HR managers use a job applicant’s credit score as a way to judge one’s financial responsibility. In this day and age a lot of employers look at someones credit to see if they are responsible with their finances. This is reasonable for positions that require the employee to handle business finances and in some cases other people’s money, but it’s becoming increasingly more common for jobs of any kind including managerial positions — so a sloppy credit history could also affect your eligibility for promotion.

How can you protect yourself from being discriminated against based on a less-than stellar history?

A credit report can only be requested legally in one of two circumstances:

1. You personally request access to your own credit report.

2. A company that will be involved with you financially is requesting it (credit lender, financial institution etc.)

Or, if another form of background check such as checking your name against the Homeland Security Act is required, one may access your credit report also.

When applying for your job, make note of which forms you fill out and what types of background checks you agree too. If you spot one that will look at your credit score, refuse to sign it and inform your interviewer that you are not intending to do any financial business with them. If the company insists, they are actually breaking the law.

The Real Hustle has produced an excellent exposee of a scam that could hit patio diners. This video shows the scam in action. The unsuspecting customers are not actors, but watch as an ordinary guy posing as wait staff scams three couples out of their credit card using the line “since you’re sitting outside we’re going to have to take your credit card inside, because we’ve had a lot of runners (or “dine and dash”) and we need to protect ourselves. We’re not going to charge the card and you can pay with cash if you like.” Seems reasonable enough, no? That’s what makes it such an easy scam to pull off.

Don’t be a victim. Never give over your credit card unless you know your waiter or waitress is indeed working at the establishment (by bringing you your drink order). Still, it’s best not to EVER give your card away for an extended period of time, since servers may also pull scams on you while you’re dining — copying credit cards for example. If you find yourself in such a circumstance, find somewhere else to dine, or eat inside.

We all know how department store credit cards charge the highest rates of interest, but they also give the biggest rewards. For large purchases at a department store - a leather jacket, a new bed, refrigerator, diamond earrings or patio set, for example, a 5% or 10% discount you may receive from using your department store credit card is 5 to 10 times higher than with a general retail rewards credit card that earns you one point per dollar spent, with limited redemption options.

If you don’t have a department store card for the particular place you are making your purchase, don’t worry, the salesperson will be more than happy to sign you up. Plus you’ll enjoy future discounts. However, to avoid getting caught in the high interest snare, make sure you pay up each month. Most department stores will not let you pay your account balances with other credit cards, and if you take a cash advance from another credit card, you may begin to pay interest right away. However, if the cash advance interest rate is 19% and the credit card from the department store is 30%, you’re still ahead of the game. Plus, you have 21-or-so days of a grace period with the department store payment depending on the terms and conditions of your card.

Another benefit is you will increase your available credit on your credit report. If you don’t use your department store card often, your overall debt-to-credit ratio will improve, simply by adding more available credit.

When you go out with friends, do you always end up in an argument over who pays the bill? Or do you spend almost half an hour trying to divide who owes what for what? By playing Credit Card Roulette, you don’t have to worry about these burdensome situations. Imagine leaving the decision to chance?

Credit Card Roulette is a game where each diner in a party puts their credit card into a hat, bowl or other container, and at the end of the meal, the waiter or waitress selects a card. The owner of the card is certainly safe, but then the hat/bowl/whatever gets passed around the table, each guest removing a card until the last card is left – the (un) lucky cardholder gets to foot the bill for the whole table.

The stakes are high for everyone at the table (who may get nervous when others order steaks). A meal consisting of drinks, entrees, dessert, appetizers and a tip could max out a credit card, or even exceed a cardholder’s available limit.

A variation of the game, where a card is drawn after each course of the meal, adds fuel to the fire as those relieved of the risk of paying for all may be tempted to go for the premium wine or the “richest” desserts.

There are more variations where the diners are unaware that the game will be played at the end, and where those that are unwilling to take the risk pay their own bill plus a penalty fee. Of course, the more people that are eating, the lower your chances of “winning.” This game amongst a party of three is a lot less daunting of a bill, but a much higher chance of getting caught.

Another type of credit card roulette refers to transferring credit card balances from higher APR cards to lower APR, and is far less risky!

It’s no secret that college students often find themselves with a mountain of credit card debt to go along with their college diploma. All over the United States, credit card issuers set up shop right on college campuses- enticing students to sign up for their credit card by giving away prizes and bonuses, sometimes as good as ipods or other high-ticket items.

Assembly Bill 262 is now on the California Governor’s desk. If its approved, part of that bill will put a stop to credit card companies setting up tables or otherwise hanging out on university campuses with their bag of tricks and prizes to lure the students into signing the dotted line.

In an effort to speed up table turnover at peak hours and eliminate waitress credit card skimming (waitresses who take your credit card as payment and make a copy of the information for themselves or to sell), many US restaurants are installing swipe machines at each table at sit-down restaurants.

This do-it-yourself credit card processing is common at gas pumps and many retail shopping establishments in the US, but has barely even started in sit-down restaurants.  Mostly due to restaurant owners not wanting to pay to get the equipment.

Participating restaurants will have remote-control like units on each table that allows people to swipe their credit or debit cards at their tables and pay for both the food and a tip.  The card information is sent wirelessly to the restaurants computer and a printer will spit out the receipt that a server will bring to the table.

If this becomes popular in the US restaurants, I think they should take it a step further and have the hand held device act as both the menu and the order taker, as well.  Let me enter my order in the remote-control, and have the printer in the kitchen spit it out for the cooks.  That ought to speed up the process of waiting for the server to make it over to take our orders, too.