"Clear out the holiday catalogues, the Christmas cards and the coupons, and your mailbox may look less than festive. Now that the credit card industry is required to warn you about any changes they're planning, you should be scrutinizing what you think is only junk mail.
When you open that mail, you may discover that your interest rates are rising, or switching from fixed to variable. In addition, some card issuers are instituting higher balance-transfer fees and raising teaser rates – or eliminating them all together. The warnings come courtesy of sweeping reforms required by a law enacted this spring that is being phased in over the next year.'
. . .
"A study by The Pew Charitable Trusts released last month found that advertised rates on about 400 credit cards this summer had jumped as much as 23 percent. In addition, the study reported that many issuers were shifting customers from fixed to variable rates, which would ease some of the notification requirements.
"'It's difficult to say why this is happening," said Nick Bourke, manager of the Safe Credit Cards Project at Pew. "I think it's clear that issuers are responding to the continued difficult economic times. . . . I think it's also possible that the timing has something to do with getting these changes into place before the new law takes effect.'"
Full Article"Direct mail offers are flowing for business credit cards, many with attractive promotional interest rates and balance transfer deals...while there are many reasons to open an account, there can be substantial risks involved."
More infoThis fact sheet focuses on the lessons learned from consumers who purchase and use prepaid debit cards.
More info"Something is wrong when keeping cash in the kitchen cookie jar seems a reasonable substitute for your bank.''
More info"It was early 2007, and Michael Roster and Dwane Krumme each viewed the credit card industry with growing dismay."
More info''More small companies—already struggling with weak sales and tight lending—are being forced to rely on business credit cards to provide working capital.''
More info''If you've ever thought someone was playing fast and lose with the rules on your credit cards, credit score or mortgage, but you had no idea where to go with your complaint, you now have a place to turn.''
More info"Four Senators today called for more disclosure on business credit card offers so cardholders will understand that business cards are not protected by the same laws as regular consumer cards that bar practices like retroactive interest rate hikes."
More info''Households receiving offers for 'business' credit cards would be wise to throw them away, a nonprofit research group is warning consumers.''
More info"It’s been two years since the landmark Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 was signed into law, and by all accounts, it’s led to some pretty significant changes in the giant industry grinding away behind those little pieces of plastic."
More info"Credit-card issuers are marketing so-called professional cards—formerly reserved for small-business owners or executives—to individuals, a new report says."
More info"The sudden interest-rate hikes, high fees and steep penalties that last year's credit card regulations were designed to eliminate are still lurking in one segment of the credit card market: cards designated for businesses."
More info"From January 2006 to December 2010, American households received more than 2.6 billion offers for so-called "business" credit cards, according to a new report from the Pew Safe Credit Cards Project."
More info"Each month, Americans get more than 10 million business credit card pitches in their home mailboxes. The cards are aimed at small businesses and sole proprietors, but they generally lack the new protections that apply to consumer cards, a new report from the Pew Charitable Trusts says."
More infoThe Credit CARD Act of 2009, signed into law two years ago, made consumer credit cards safer and more transparent. But, its rules did not apply to cards labeled for business or commercial use, placing millions of individuals and small business owners at risk.
More infoEvery month, millions of consumers receive offers for business credit cards which are not protected by Credit CARD Act safeguards. The large number of solicitations for less-regulated cards place American families at risk.
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