Tag Archive | "card issuers"

Understanding Credit Card Interest Rates

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,


APR or Annual Percentage Rate determines the total cost of your credit in terms of annual rate. You should carefully understand the APR and different facts related to it.

Different APRs on Various Transactions

Different Credit Card Companies

Usually creditors allow users to use their credit cards with full freedom by giving them introductory APRs on various transactions. Promotional APRs mean that you have a lower APR on various kinds of transactions for a particular time period. The APR returns to the original point after the end of promotional period. Users can save a great amount of money by using these low promotional rates.

What to Avoid?

You should avoid penalty or default APR. These are usually the higher APRs that are imposed on the late payments. The detail of penalty APRs is within the account agreement.

Fair Comparison of Variable & Fixed APRs

You have different APRs among which some are variable or some may be non-variable. Let’s have a look on the difference between variable and non-variable APRs.

Generally, variable APRs are calculated by the addition of a margin that can be determined by the credit card issuer to the index (also called as reference rate) like the United States Prime Rate. There is a direct relationship of variable APR and the Prime Rate i.e. when the prime rate rises, variable APR rises, however, it is dependable on your issuer that when they update your rates. Your account contract contains information about variable APRs change.

Read the full story

Changes in Credit Card Law: New Credit Card Act

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,


If you are in touch with the news and aware of updates around, you would have probably came across a new term called the Credit CARD Act. And like many other clients, you also might be curious how this thing will influence you, your current credit card, and your power to get credit in the future.

Why Credit Card act?

Sometimes clients were traced quite confused and encumbered, regarding the practices of credit card.

card act

Especially in this bothersome business related atmosphere, lawmakers desired to be sure that clients can easily access both credit and to pay back the amounts they owe. To cope up with the problems of clients and lawmakers desire, the Credit CARD Act is a sequence of improvements to the Truth in Lending Act.

Benefits for Cardholders

The importance of this legislation is satisfaction of client, easy billing and payment routine, more regularity regarding rate inflation’s and more moderate fees. Bank of America is agreeing with the CARD Act in ways that best go on the demands of clients.

Bank of America put in action many alterations included in the Credit CARD Act in February 2010. Below in this article, you shall see some supplementary alterations that begun in August 2010.

The freshest alterations beginning in August 2010 contains:

Late payment fees are reduced

The amount of late fees will be decreased, and will be dependent on the number of delayed payments you enact. The first delayed payment; the fee of $25 will be charged. If some more dues are late in the period of next six months, fee would be increased to $35 for each supplementary happening.

Subsequently, if your payments are on time for the period of next six months in a row, the late payment fee you were charged will return to $25. Furthermore, the amount of your late dues payment fee will never be more than your least payment. For example, if your least payment is $20, your late payment fee cannot be profuse than $20. At Bank of America, late payment fee is never charged if balance in client’s account is $100 or less.

Read the full story

Top 10 Facts About Credit Card Usage

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,


Today’s world economy is passing through critical conditions, including American states too. It resulted in several difficulties to the U.S citizens. For instance, a weakened housing market, increased unemployment and a sever inflation in the region. These issues have actually affected the use of credit cards of the consumers.

credit card

Credit card using in U.S:

Research studies show American consumers are being the most economical they’ve been during the middle of World War II. Now they have increased in turn their spending on credit by reaching billions of US dollars in two months only. About six billion of the amounts are due to reduced credit card spending.

Facts of Credit Card:

Following are the 10 more fascinating facts of the recent American credit market:

  • The unemployment rate is near to 11% in America. When per household income increases, the consumers are forced to depend on their credit cards for their consumption. More than 70% families report that their credit cards are used mostly in “emergency fund” like car trouble, medical expenses, etc. The average level of debt for a middle-class American family the average level debt is almost $9,831.
  • Americans still carry 2.49 trillion USD of personal debt in spite the decreased dependence on credit. Consumers owe about 1 trillion USD of this amount to credit card companies.
  • The two states in U.S (Miami and Florida) owe the highest percentage of their household income to the credit card companies. Miami citizens owe an average of 9,797.38 USD of their incomes to their creditors.
  • Read the full story

How To Transfer Credit Card Balances With Bad Credit?

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,


Having high-interest credit card balances along with bad credit can be a tough situation. Although it may sound like a really bad combination, it may not be that bad.

bad credit

Most of the people having poor credit, often seek help from professionals in order to solve their credit woes. But your real help lies elsewhere. Whether you are trying to open a new credit card to transfer the balance, or enlisting a credit counseling company to assist you, the best offers are often found elsewhere.

Read the full story

Convenience Checks

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,


The associated card issuer, from time to time, issues convenience checks to credit cardholders by email. In fact, most consumers receive them at least once a month. Although these may seem tempting, and look like “free money”, they are far from it. Thus, make sure you understand all the terms and conditions before you use them.

Check2

How Convenience Checks Work

It is possible to use convenience checks like any other check. You can give them to whoever accepts checks as payment, including merchants, family, friends, or yourself if you wish, to deposit funds into your own checking or savings account.

Read the full story

Card Issuers and Colleges Team Up on Students

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,


Credit card companies are going to all lengths to get students to sign up for cards nowadays. Students might be motivated to get them seeing the free t-shirt or free pizza offer, but the high price that they’ll have to pay later is nothing compared to these small gifts. Not knowing about the consequences, the students will not only get into debt, they will also spoil their credit rating and hence put their future at steak.

tim_imprisoned_by_credit_card_debt_hg_clr

Knowing all this, some student groups have gone so far as to classify these marketing tactics as predatory. But then, why are banks still allowed to market credit cards to students? It is possible that they just might have a contract with the host college.

Read the full story