Credit Card Industry News

Earn 2 Free Nights With the First-Ever Hyatt Credit Card

September 3, 2010

Hyatt just announced the first loyalty program credit card in the hotel chain’s history, co-branded with Chase. The card is getting tons of press because of its unusual sign-up bonus, as described in the press release: After the first use of the credit card, members will receive, courtesy of Chase and Hyatt, two nights at [...]

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Calm Down, the Poor Are Not Paying for the Rewards of the Rich

August 28, 2010

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At issue: The Boston Federal Reserve is making policy recommendations based on a statistical model showing that the “poor” subsidize credit card rewards for the “rich”. While there’s nothing wrong with writing such papers as an academic exercise, you have to be a lot more careful about your assumptions when writing political papers that are [...]

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Score 75,000 American Airlines Miles Right Now. Maybe Even 225,000.

August 24, 2010

I look at rewards credit card deals for a good 12 hours a day, so it’s hard to impress me with a rewards offer. But this morning, a friend of mine sent over a deal so good that I actually pulled the trigger… three times! We’ll see how things go, but I applied for three [...]

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CARD Act Regulation Now In Full Effect, Penalty Fees Be Damned

August 22, 2010

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As of today, the last wave of the Federal Reserve’s credit card rules go into effect, as dictated by last year’s Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act (or the CARD Act). These rules are meant to spare consumers from certain egregious fees and penalty APRs. While that’s bad news for bank bottom lines, it [...]

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Credit Card & Rewards Reviews

Chase Travel Card Showdown – Continental OnePass vs Sapphire Preferred

September 3, 2010

A few months back, Chase launched a new travel rewards card called the Continental OnePass Plus, which pays out OnePass frequent flyer miles for every dollar spent. We’re generally not too impressed with these types of airline cards since better deals can normally be had with cash back rewards cards, but this one actually has [...]

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Chase Ink Business Cards – Ink Cash Is a Standout, Ink Plus Isn’t

September 1, 2010

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Chase Ink is actually a suite of four different small business credit cards. Each has its own features, as we detail below. But we think two are worth seriously considering, and two aren’t. Bottom line: Ink Cash is a great small business credit card (we use it at NerdWallet), and can earn you over 2% [...]

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American Express Gold Card – More a Lifestyle Choice Than Rewards Card

August 31, 2010

The American Express Gold Card is a status symbol. It’s only offered to people with superb credit, and you are required to pay the balance in full each month. This is a throwback to the American Express of yore, when these “charge cards” made you part of an exclusive club with benefits to match. These [...]

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American Express Blue, Deciphering 4 Very Different Credit Cards

August 30, 2010

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There are four American Express Blue credit cards. They really have very little in common, other than their $0 annual fees and appearance. However, they all excel in their own ways: Name Quick Summary American Express Blue Cash 5% back on gas and groceries & 1.25% on everything else, after you spend $6,500. 1% and [...]

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What is the Best Gas Credit Card? (We Compare 42 of them)

August 27, 2010

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NerdWallet lists 26 42 gas credit cards, which earn >1% rewards at the pump. What is the best gas credit card? The answer is not black and white. While it may be tempting to just pick the card with the highest listed reward rate (see the table below), there are other things to consider first. [...]

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Disney Credit Card: Doesn’t Make the Cut for Rewards or Low APR

August 25, 2010

The Disney Visa credit card from Chase is a hugely popular credit card. We really can’t understand why. It probably helps that Chase is the biggest card issuer in the US, and that the Disney card is one of their few 0% intro APR cards. It also probably helps that Disney is a marketing juggernaut. [...]

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Chase Sapphire Preferred Card – Is the 25k Point Bonus Worth It?

August 19, 2010

Chase is now offering the Sapphire Preferred credit card in addition to the normal Chase Sapphire card. The main difference is that Sapphire Preferred has an $85 annual fee (waived the first year), while Sapphire does not. However, you get 25,000 points for signing up instead of 10,000 – aka $250 instead of $100. This [...]

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Costco TrueEarnings: the Best Credit Card for Well-Rounded Spenders?

July 31, 2010

When you, as a credit card user, are hunting for ways to maximize rewards, attention-grabbing 5% cash back offers can be tempting. But we’ve made no secret of our view that these cards rarely offer the best deals. They may be helpful additions to a combination of credit cards, but what if you just want [...]

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Our Best Credit & Finance Tips

Foreign Transaction Fees by U.S. Card Issuers

August 30, 2010

Update: The PenFed Travel Rewards Amex now carries a 2% transaction fee. Read our full write-up about foreign transaction fees on the Forbes blog here.

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Six Ways To Save on Moving Costs

August 30, 2010

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This guest post comes to you from Evan Silverman, CEO of Williampaid.com. His site helps you build credit by paying your rent online and on time. It’s that time of year when most people start bemoaning the approaching end of summer. For many, there is another reason to be complaining. August and September are two [...]

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Debit Rewards – The Answer You Didn’t Even Know You Were Seeking

August 23, 2010

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This guest post is from Jennifer Scott, the Digital Communications Manager for PerkStreet Financial. She used her debit rewards card to buy personal training sessions recently and can’t stop patting herself on the back for making such a smart decision. You work hard for your money. Sometimes you work too hard for too little money. [...]

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Get The Skinny On Credit Cards And Beat Card Companies at Their Own Game

August 18, 2010

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Credit cards can be a touchy subject. Some people love them, some people despise them, and few people truly understand them. Before the recent financial crisis, few people really cared enough about them outside of their own fiscal situations, but nowadays they’re a hot topic. You can’t open a newspaper or a web browser without [...]

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More on Discover

Discover Acceptance Hits 90%. Does the Escape Deserve Our Respect?

July 7, 2010

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Discover has a reputation for not being widely accepted, which is the main reason why I’ve shied away from applying for a Discover Escape card despite the mathematically superior rewards it offers. The bad rep is not without merit, but it’s quickly fading from truth into perception. Even since 2007, when Discover was the butt [...]

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Business Credit Card Round-Up (65 Offers Made Easy)

April 22, 2010

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We’re expanding our horizons! NerdWallet now lists a whopping 65 credit cards aimed at small business owners. So if you’ve got your own hustle, we’ve got a card for you. We ran all of them through the NerdWallet calculators to see how they stack up in terms of (i) rewards, (ii) low APR deals, and [...]

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More on Citibank

Why Do Banks Offer 0% Balance Transfers?

August 5, 2010

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20 years ago, credit cards with “no annual fee” and “0% intro APR” were rare. Then, Providian entered the fray. The company was first to pioneer the practice of offering credit cards with attractive sounding terms, but with heavy penalty fees in the event of a mistake. This allowed them to offer the best sounding [...]

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Capital One Nixes Most 0% Introductory Balance Transfer Offers

August 2, 2010

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As phase 3 of the CARD Act goes into effect this month, card issuers are making some final adjustments to their portfolios. Capital One has dropped introductory balance transfer offers across most of their card portfolio, including all of their reward cards. The only two consumer cards with 0% introductory balance transfer offers are platinum [...]

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More on Bank of America

Asiana Credit Card, New King of Airline Mile Cards

June 25, 2010

Tip: Asiana Airlines is a Star Alliance member, so you can book flights on Continental, United, and US Airways with miles you earn with the Asiana Airlines credit card. What makes Bank of America’s updated Asiana American Express card the new king of the Airline Mile credit cards? You get 2 Asiana Miles per $1 [...]

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World Points: Bank of America’s Sub-Par Rewards Program

May 23, 2010

We give Bank of America’s WorldPoints program two thumbs down compared to other banks’ reward programs. Why? In most cases, you need to horde 25,000 points before you can redeem points for a 1 cent value, the industry standard. This is about as bad as it gets in terms of bank reward programs. Even Citi Thank You [...]

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