Credit Card Companies Battle in China The Ms. Magic credit card from China Citic Bank is dotted with crystals and offers free beauty treatments and health insurance. Huaxia Bank's Pretty Lady card entices women with triple points for cosmetic purchases … Continue reading
A recent report underscores that good credit may save consumers significant money on their credit cards. The average interest rate for people with good credit went down 1.69% from the fourth quarter 2012, but the rates for those with average … Continue reading
The VantageScore credit scoring model has undergone some improvements, giving lenders a reported 25 percent improvement on the ability to make predictions on consumers. The new VantageScore 3.0 model also has the ability to formulate a score for the estimated … Continue reading
N.J. Calls Off Credit Card Pitches to Students at Public Colleges Companies that issue credit cards can no longer market them to students at New Jersey public colleges under a law Gov. Christie signed Thursday. The new law prohibits public … Continue reading
TransUnion has released its ranking of metropolitan areas with the highest and lowest consumer credit score in the country. Two areas in northern California--San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (700) and San Francisco-Oakland-Freemont (696)--have the highest scores. Memphis is the area with the lowest … Continue reading
We have all made financial mistakes at some point. When it comes to credit cards, there are a significant number of pitfalls that any consumer can make. To help you avoid these, we have compiled a list of the 10 most common credit … Continue reading
According to some new research from Equifax, the total number of consumers with subprime credit scores is declining. The latest data from the third quarter of 2012 shows there are about one million fewer consumers with a credit score below 620. … Continue reading
Credit Card Penalty Payments are Arriving More than $425 million in refunds and restitution will soon be sent to millions of consumers nationwide, penalties paid for deceptive credit card practices. And another $410 million--from Bank of America--is already landing in … Continue reading
Black Friday has become known for terrific sales to kick off the holiday shopping season. If you visit some stores this Black Friday, a store clerk will likely ask you, "Would you like to save X% by opening a credit card account?" Typically, stores offer … Continue reading
FICO recently released a study that gives details about the financial habits of the 50 million consumers with the highest credit scores. FICO scores range from 300 to 850 and any score above 785 is considered very high. Approximately 25 … Continue reading
Moms May Benefit From Credit Card Rule Fix For certain moms with trouble getting plastic, help is on the way. A federal agency is aiming to fix a rule that's making it difficult for spouses without their own incomes to … Continue reading
The credit score you purchase from a credit reporting agency may be very different from the score your lender sees. Lender's scoring models place nearly one in five consumers in different credit categories, according to a new report by the Consumer … Continue reading
Economic growth and job growth are in a painfully slow recovery, but a new study shows that consumers are taking slightly better care of their finances. Experian's third annual State of Credit Report shows the average VantageScore across the nation increased from … Continue reading
Hidden Good News on Credit Cards In a sign that consumers are getting back on their feet, new data shows that credit card debts are shrinking. Dig deeper into the fine print and there's better news: fewer credit card … Continue reading
U.S. Consumers Cut Back on Credit Card Use in June Americans cut back on credit card use in June, a sign that high unemployment and slow growth have made some more cautious about spending. Still, total consumer borrowing increased as … Continue reading
It is almost time for high school graduates to go off to college, moving away home for the first time. As parents give last-minute lessons about independence, money management should be an important part of these discussions. It is critical … Continue reading
U.S. Consumer Agency to Supervise Credit Reporting Companies The U.S. consumer watchdog agency said it will start closely supervising credit reporting companies in September, bringing the industry under strict federal supervision for the first time. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, … Continue reading