• bailout

    American Express Becomes A Bank... And Wants Bailout Money

    American Express won U.S. Federal Reserve approval to become a bank holding company — giving it access to the bailout party as credit card defaults climb. Bloomberg News says that the Fed waived the usual 30 day waiting period because (in the words of Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke) we're experiencing "unusual and exigent circumstances affecting the financial markets." Today, American Express has requested $3.5 billion in taxpayer-funded capital from the federal government, says the WSJ. More »

    11:34 AM on Wed Nov 12 2008
    By Meg Marco
    8,238 views, 54 comments

    Most discussed jdhuck: This really bothers me. i work hard to pay my bills and I do not get money just handed more »

  • recession watch

    Economy: "Consumers Have Thrown In The Towel"

    Consumer spending is down and credit card defaults are up! More »
  • american express

    AMEX Says You Closed Your Account While In Coma

    According to the credit report, AMEX says Dan's father-in-law closed a credit card he had with them while he was in a coma. Now Amex is using that to come after the mother-in-law for $15,000. Read the rest of the story, inside... More »

    9:40 AM on Tue Oct 21 2008
    By Ben Popken
    16,310 views, 93 comments

    Most discussed fisherstudios: Well, just because you die doesn't mean that your debt goes away. Otherwise I could take out a million dollar more »

  • credit crunch

    American Express Randomly Cut My Credit Limit From $25,000 to $1,800

    Reader Pierre is a small business owner who has an American Express Business Account that used to have a $25,000 limit, but has now been cut to $1,800. He says his company's bill is usually around $12,000 a month, and it is always paid in full — on time. While Pierre is clearly upset with American Express, the Wall Street Journal says that all banks are cutting access to credit. More »

    3:11 PM on Mon Sep 29 2008
    By Meg Marco
    22,298 views, 97 comments

    Most discussed DirtyBits: I'm not a credit card user so take it easy on me here. For those who are using credit more »

  • american express

    Morning Deals

    Highlights From Dealnews

    • Graveyard Mall: Wooden Roll-top Desk Organizer for $9 + $6 s&h
    • Amazon.com: Columbia Sportswear Men's Shoes from $19 + $5 s&h
    • Amazon.com: Green Mountain K-Cup 50-Packs for $9 + $6 s&h
    Highlights From Dealhack
    • Circuit City: Element FLX3711B 37-inch LCD HDTV $600
    • American Express: Up to 5% Cash Back on Purchases with SimplyCash Business Card
    • Geeks: Refurbished Dual AMD Opteron Rack Mount Servers from $200
    Highlights From Buxr
    • Hewlett Packard: $500 off $1399 HP Pavilion Notebooks w/ code NB0915
    • Frys.com: Western Digital GreenPower 500GB Serial ATA/300 Hard Drive for $69.99 + shipping
    • Edmund Scientific: $25 Off $50 or more w/ coupon code ES25

    8:15 AM on Tue Sep 16 2008
    By Ben Popken
    881 views, 4 comments

    Most discussed Daveinva: A request for Consumerist-- can you tag your "Morning Deals" posts? Sometimes these deals last longer than a day, and more »

  • apple

    Morning Deals

    • Apple: Refurbished iPod touches on sale, 8GB for $180, 16GB for $240, 32GB for $320
    • Amazon: Rewards points upgrade for existing Amazon.com Visa holders
    • Apple: Free Select iTunes TV Shows in HD (requires iTunes 8
    Highlights From Dealnews
    • Travelocity: United Airlines Sale: Round-trip flights from $108
    • Amazon.com: Amazon.com Men's Watch Deals: Timex, Marc Ecko, more from $40 + free shipping
    • Sears: Seven7 Women's Jeans for $18 + $6 s&h, more
    Highlights From Buxr
    • Budget Truck Rental: $50 Gift card when paying w/American Express
    • Reverie: T-Shirt Sale: Buy 1 TEE get 1 free TEE
    • BestBuy: Westinghouse 42" 1080p LCD HDTV and portable DVD Player for $749.99 + shipping
    Highlights From Dealhack
    • Drugstore.com: New Customers: Save $5 or $10 off First Order
    • Vann's: Panasonic FZ28 10.2MP Digital Camera $340 Shipped
    • Amazon: Get Savings of up to 75% off Bargain Books

    9:05 AM on Thu Sep 11 2008
    By Ben Popken
    907 views, 3 comments

    Latest by karmaghost: By "free select iTunes TV shows" they don't mean, for example, the full season 2 of 30 Rock, they mean more »

  • american express

    Amex Tops JD Power Credit Card 2008 Customer Satisfaction Survey

    JD Power and Associates ranked American Express at the top of their 2008 Credit Card Satisfaction Study. Customers gave the company high marks in interaction, billing and payment processes, reward programs, fees and rates, and benefits and services, with the first three factors standing out in particular. Capital One and HSBC, which target revolvers with lower credit scores, received the worst marks. Oddly, Discover got second place. People must really like their two-cycle billing (see "Two-Cycle Billing And Why It's Evil"). Full rankings inside... More »

    12:46 PM on Wed Sep 3 2008
    By Ben Popken
    3,932 views, 37 comments

    Most discussed SkokieGuy: @cotr: Remember that the card is specifically marketed with an incentive rate to perform a balance transfer. I simply performed the more »

  • Debt Collectors

    Vonage Insists You're Still A Customer Two Years After You Canceled Service

    Listen Vonage, Garry isn't your customer anymore. You need to stop sending him bills and let him go. Sure, he liked you back in 2004, but he found a better company at a cheaper price and he's moved on. Billing his AmEx every single month for two years after he canceled? Not cute. Sending his account to collections when his AmEx finally expired? Seems desperate. Please Vonage, get over Garry and move on with your life. More »

    12:15 PM on Sun Aug 31 2008
    By Carey
    26,208 views, 33 comments

    Most discussed NotYou007: I love Vonage and I only pay 19.95 a month for unlimited service instead of 24.95 and I have an more »

  • credit card reform

    Consumers: We're Mad As Hell And We're Not Going To Charge It Anymore!

    Once upon a time, Peter Finch won an Oscar for telling us to go to our window, open it, and yell, "We're mad as hell and we're not going to take this anymore!" Now thousands and thousands of consumers are doing just that, but instead of yelling out their windows, they're yelling at the Federal Reserve in the form of a record breaking number of public comments about some proposed credit card reforms. Not as sexy as yelling like a madman, but far, far more effective. More »

    9:35 AM on Thu Aug 28 2008
    By Meg Marco
    11,822 views, 74 comments

    Most discussed RamV10: Maybe I'm naieve, but I don't see the problem. Honestly I don't. You don't abuse the credit card system and it more »

  • american express

    Convicted Pedophile Sues AmEx For $4 Million, Says Creditor Violated His Privacy

     Meet James Colliton, a disbarred corporate lawyer who served 19 months in jail after bribing a mother so he could sleep with her 13 and 15 year-old daughters. Colliton recently sued American Express for $4 million, claiming that he was captured because the credit card company told authorities that the fugitive gutter-cretin was signing for hotel rooms in Ontario. More »

    12:45 PM on Sat Aug 2 2008
    By Carey
    40,314 views, 154 comments

    Latest by harvey_birdman_attorney_at_law: Sure, this guy may be scum, but I don't like the idea of any company whose services I use turning more »