March 10th, 2010
Credit Cards Offering Perks For Good Credit Customers
While most customers are receiving costly bad news about annual fees or rate hikes from their credit card issuers, select cardholders are unexpectedly receiving new credit card perks such as more generous rewards programs.
Citigroup Inc. upgraded select customers’ American Airline-stamped credit cards to earn 1.2 miles for every dollar spent, up from 1 mile per dollar. JP Morgan Chase and Co. also improved their customers British Airway card to 1.25 miles, also up from 1 mile per dollar. Chase, and likely more issuers in the near future, did not disclose specifics but enhanced rewards earning power for their Marriott cards. Citigroup, and presumably other issuers, announced that these card enhancements are for customers with good credit standing.
Using reward incentives to encourage cardholders to spend more—rather than penalize cardholders or excessively charge them—is a new tactic to recoup money lost to the CARD Act without hurting customer loyalty. This move is certainly a 180 degree turn from the past months of cutting back rewards programs, implementing annual fees, unexpected charges, inactivity penalties, and more. These so-called “earning accelerators” are designed to get cardholders to use one credit card over another.
March 10th, 2010
Wednesday Trends in Credit Cards & Debt
Consumer credit levels have up and down results at the start of 2010. On the one hand, overall consumer credit increased 2.4% in January (as compared to a 2.2% decline in December) and showed $2.45 trillion in consumer credit outstanding, reports Credit.com. But, the good news is that revolving consumer credit has consistently decreased every month for over a year, showing that consumers are continuing to pay off their credit card debt.
Credit.com writes, “Though a drop in revolving consumer credit may be taken as a positive sign in the form of people paying off their credit card debt, it also can have a negative connotation. A drop in revolving debt outstanding could also mean that banks had to charge off of what is owed to them as customers find it hard to pay off their credit card debt.”
Stay on top of your debt and credit card news with the rest of today’s roundup favorite personal finance articles and posts.
March 9th, 2010
What Does Your Email Provider Say About You?
You may have kept your AOL account since receiving a free disc in the 90’s, signed up for Yahoo! in college, got a Gmail invite, or moved to Comcast when you finally installed broadband, but what does it say about you? When categorized by email provider, the credit score and debt averages of users begins to tell a story. Do Gmail users take on larger mortgages? Do Yahoo! users have lower credit card limits? Credit Karma takes a closer look at how users of the most popular email providers stack up.
Disclaimer: Our analysis is for informational purposes. The data shows correlations for a number of reasons and is based on averages. As anyone who has taken a statistics class knows, causality and correlation are very different.
March 9th, 2010
Dear Credit Karma — All About Credit Karma
Dear Credit Karma,
Will checking my credit score on Credit Karma lower my score?
Absolutely not! Credit Karma aims to help you earn and maintain healthy credit without hurting your credit. When you pull your credit score via Credit Karma, it is categorized as a soft inquiry because you are essentially pulling your own score as a type of background check, similar to inquiries done by employers, landlords, banks, and more.
The type of inquiry that will ding your credit score is a hard inquiry. Hard inquiries are done by credit card issuers, mortgage lenders, and other lenders that are pulling your credit report for the purpose of assessing whether or not they should extend credit to you.
March 8th, 2010
REVIEW: Newest Additions To Capital One’s Credit Card Family – Venture and VentureOne
Capital One recently rebranded two great travel rewards credit cards, the Capital One’s No Hassle Miles Excellent and No Hassle Miles Ultra for Professionals, into the new benefits and sleek look of the Venture Rewards Card and VentureOne Rewards Card.
The Venture Rewards Credit Card is replacing the No Hassle Miles Ultra for Professional while the VenureOne Credit Card replaces the No Hassle Miles Excellent. The two preceding No Hassle cards that have long been one of the best value travel rewards cards, so what can we expect with its chic changes?
March 8th, 2010
Monday Jumpstart to Personal Finance & Credit Report News
The Wall Street Journal’s attention-grabbing headline is a sign of the times: Coupon Clipping Is Newest Extreme Sport. In a recession that’s left Americans struggling with at-risk loans, defaulted credit cards, slashed paychecks, and 8.4 million unemployed, penny-pinching is a practical and ever-more popular way to save money. The number of coupons redeemed rose to 3.3 billion last year, up from 2.6 billion in 2008. Sites like Groupon and RetailMeNot have taken coupon clipping high-tech, adding social networking and online access to offer consumers a fresh take on saving money the old-fashioned way.
Find more ways to make the most of your money with our personal finance roundup, plus articles and blogs to brush up on your credit health.
March 5th, 2010
House Passes Job Stimulus Bill—But Is It Enough?
With the national unemployment rate stagnant at 9.7%, lawmakers are hoping to spur more vigorous hiring among employers with a $15 billion bill that gives a temporary tax break to companies hiring new employees. This bill was just passed in the House and is awaiting approval in Senate.
The measure is designed to create jobs and boost employment by exempting businesses that hire unemployed workers (at least 60 days unemployed) from the 6.2% Social Security payroll tax now through December. Additionally, the bill will give employers an additional $1,000 credit if new workers stay on the job a full year.
March 5th, 2010
Dear Credit Karma… More On What Affects Your Credit Score
Dear Credit Karma,
How could moving affect my credit score?
Moving from one home to another will not directly affect your credit score, but beware of any fallout that may occur with misplaced bills that could end up hurting your credit score.
When you move, make sure you update your new address for all financially-sensitive mail like credit card statements, utility bills, and loan payments. Remember, it takes a week or so to have your mail forwarded. These changes can get lost in the transition of moving and ultimately hurt your credit score. Missing or paying late on a bill just because you didn’t receive it at your new home and forgot to take care of it will deal an unnecessary blow to your credit score. Also, if you left your previous home because of an eviction (which may be reported on your credit report, depending on your landowner) or a foreclosure (can cost up to 160 points in damage to your credit score), it will negatively affect your credit score.
March 5th, 2010
Friday Scoop on Credit Karma & Housing Market News
Do you know what defines a “binding contract”, that short sales are typically subject to lengthy delays, or what contract contingencies might be included that will buy you some time? Find out this and more helpful, last-minute homebuyer tax credit tips from Bankrate.com to make the most of the weeks before the April 30th deadline to find and purchase your dream home.
Want more home market updates? Today’s roundup has your home maintenance tips and home mortgage info, plus Credit Karma links of the week.
March 3rd, 2010
Wednesday Trends in Credit Cards & Debt
America is shopping again! Most retail sectors, including electronics, men’s clothing, and luxury items, gained in sales in February. Online sales also rose sharply, however some spending categories, such as women’s clothing stores, slowed down; Associated Press blames bad weather and snowstorms keeping consumers indoors and away from cash registers. Despite these increases, spending overall remains tepid in the face of high unemployment and tightened credit.
Need some debt help or advice on your latest credit card? This roundup features great articles and blogs that will fill you in.
