Forgetting to tell your bank that you’ll be traveling far outside of your normal spending zone can often lead to frustrations like having transactions rejected out of concern that your card is being used fraudulently. In an attempt to make the lives of frequent travelers easier – and prevent fraud – Visa plans to launch a new service this spring that automatically informs banks where you are. [More]
credit cards
JetBlue Also Reportedly Looking To End American Express Partnership
By 2.13.15
For ten years, JetBlue and American Express have been partners on the airline’s co-branded credit cards. But a new report claims that this longterm relationship may be coming to an end with JetBlue and that it’s already picked out a new partner. [More]
Costco Says Dumping American Express Was About “Saving Money For Customers”
By 2.13.15
Yesterday, American Express announced the impending end of its monogamous relationship with Costco, meaning that not only will AmEx cards no longer be accepted at the popular warehouse store but that co-branded AmEx/Costco credit cards will be useless after March 31, 2016. Now Costco is breaking its silence on the split, saying it was all done in the best interest of Costco shoppers. [More]
Visa, MasterCard Working On Security Improvements To Make Data Breaches Suck Less
By 2.13.15
The data breaches, major and minor, that we’ve seen over the past few years aren’t going anywhere. Payment system and database hacks are, for now, basically inevitable. And that’s why Visa and MasterCard have both announced plans to expand their security features for online shopping. [More]
3 Things Costco Shoppers Need To Know About Split From American Express
By 2.13.15
Yesterday, American Express confirmed rumors that it would be ending its exclusive partnership with Costco at the end of March 2016. While that is more than a year away, Costco members and AmEx cardholders already have some important questions. [More]
Costco To Stop Accepting American Express In 2016
By 2.12.15
It’s been rumored for months that Costco and American Express would eventually end their exclusive relationship, allowing members of the warehouse club to use other cards. Now AmEx has confirmed that the deal will indeed come to an end in early 2016. [More]
CFPB Orders Subprime Credit Card Company To Repay Consumers $2.7 Million After Charging Illegal Fees
By 2.4.15
In the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s second action against unscrupulous credit card companies this week, it has ordered a subprime credit card issuer to refund $2.7 million to customers for illegally charging costly fees. [More]
CFPB Asks Court To Shut Down Texas Company’s Deceptive, Illegal Credit Card Offer
By 2.3.15
Back in December, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filed a lawsuit against a Texas-based company that allegedly deceived consumers into paying fees to sign up for a sham credit card. The Bureau’s mission to shut down the company continued today when it asked a federal district court to make the company pay a $70,000 fine and permanently ban Union Workers Credit Services from offering any consumer credit products in the future. [More]
Study: “Anonymous” Credit Card Data Is Actually Completely Identifiable
By 1.30.15
We all kind of know that credit card data isn’t terribly secure, and that the payment information is likely to get swiped eventually. But that information is all theoretically anonymous. Without a name, address, or ZIP code attached, our credit card information doesn’t say much about us personally, right? Wrong. [More]
3 Reasons You Might Want To Dump Your Credit Card
By 1.28.15
While it’s not always a good idea to get rid of a bunch of credit cards all at once, some of that plastic in your wallet may not be offering you the best possible credit. [More]
Marching Band Delivers Petition To Citi Asking Banks To “Revoke License To Steal”
By 1.28.15
In a handful of recent decisions, the U.S. Supreme Court has affirmed the right of businesses to effectively break the law by putting a few carefully worded sentences into their contracts and user agreements. But just because you can add these clauses doesn’t mean you have to do so, which is why pro-consumer advocacy groups gathered more than 100,000 signatures on a petition that was delivered, with a little bit of music, to Citigroup HQ in Manhattan this morning. [More]
3 Mistakes To Avoid When Making A Credit Card Balance Transfer
By 1.23.15
If, like a lot of people, you’re slowly chiseling away at the debt on a credit card with an interest rate of 15% or more, it’s so tempting to take advantage of a competing card’s offer for promotions like 0% APR balance transfers. And while that may be the way to go, there are common mistakes people make that end up negating the benefits of transferring their credit card balance. [More]
Survey Says: Financial Cheating Common In American Couples
By 1.21.15
Have you been keeping a close eye on your joint piggy bank? Or perhaps you’ve got your very own credit card you keep separate from your significant other, the one you use to buy the things you don’t want to admit to (season 5 of that awful reality TV show, a giant wheel of cheese, etc.). You aren’t the only financial cheater — a new survey says there are a whole bunch of us taking financial matters to motels that charge by the hour, so to speak. [More]
Proposed Scorecard Could Help Protect Students From Dangerous Banking Products
By 1.14.15
For the past several years, federal agencies, lawmakers and consumer advocates have shared their displeasure with the rather cozy relationship between the financial industry and higher education institutions and set out to protect consumers from the often shady deals made between the two groups. Now the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is setting out to protect students by creating a scorecard that would help ensure colleges have all the pertinent details when it comes to partnering with financial institutions that offer checking and prepaid accounts to students. [More]
“Checking Your Credit Report Will Hurt Your Credit Score” And 4 Other Credit Myths
By 1.13.15
I can’t count the number of times I’ve been talking with my friends or family members about credit scores (Hey — I never claimed to lead a thrilling life) when someone would say “I’d like to check my credit report, but I don’t want to ding my credit score.” This is just one of several popular misconceptions that many people have about credit. [More]
5 Signs That You Shouldn’t Be Using Credit Cards
By 12.22.14
Just like almost every child wants a puppy and thinks they can handle the responsibility, many adults are seduced by the promise of a line of credit and convince themselves they won’t screw it up and end up buried beneath a mountain of debt. Before you take the plunge and get a credit card, a bit of honest introspection could prevent you from trapping yourself in a plastic jail cell. [More]
CFPB: College Credit Card Agreements On Decline; Debit, Prepaid Card Agreements Increase
By 12.15.14
Since Congress passed the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act in 2009, the cozy relationship between credit card issuers and institutions has fractured. But while the number of agreements between the two entities has declined drastically, that doesn’t mean banking on campus has gotten any safer for students. [More]
Boston TSA Agents Find Dozens Of Credit Cards Under Different Names Stuffed Inside Teddy Bear
By 11.21.14
Stuffed animals serve a simple purpose: To be cute and cuddly. As such, they’re imbued with a sort of innocence, so far as inanimate object can be, which is perhaps why someone thought no one would notice if a sweet little teddy bear was stuffed chock full of what could be stolen credit cards. [More]
