Current Events

NerdWallet Study of Prepaid Debit Cards vs. Checking Accounts

May 7, 2012

NerdWallet Study: Prepaid Debit Cards vs. Checking Accounts Consumers are increasingly choosing prepaid debit cards over traditional checking accounts to avoid numerous and hidden fees. But are prepaid fees really more transparent than those for checking? Do prepaid card users really incur fewer fees? According to our analysis, not only do prepaid cards have a [...]

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Beware of Bank Gimmicks

May 4, 2012
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There has been a lot of hub-bub the last few days about C1 Bank’s Mercedes Benz giveaway – the basic gist of the “deal” is: sign up for 5-year CD for $1 million, and instead of earning 1.2% APY, you immediately get a free Benz instead. Most people (including NerdWallet) agree: This “offer” really isn’t [...]

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The Federal Reserve’s Salvo in the War on Women

April 17, 2012
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It’s one thing to say that a college kid might not contribute to a family’s income. It’s quite another to deny a homemaker’s role to the household – but that’s exactly what the Federal Reserve did, issuing a policy that marginalizes stay-at-home mothers and puts abuse victims at risk. Homemakers must ask for permission to [...]

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Data Breaches and Identity Theft: How Much You Could Lose

April 3, 2012
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Worried about your credit card data getting stolen? It’s understandable: 1.5 million credit cards were compromised in the Global Payments/Visa breach; though it’s barely April, Citibank and Wells Fargo may have been compromised this year; and MSNBC.com just told us that even your credit report isn’t safe. Thankfully, in the case of a data breach [...]

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American Express Prepaid Will Now Take Direct Deposit, Actually Be Useful

March 26, 2012
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The American Express Prepaid Card was all set to revolutionize the market with a simple, easy-to-understand cost: a $2 ATM fee to Amex, after the first per month; whatever the ATM owner charges to withdraw; and retailers’ cash reload fees, usually $3.95-$4.95. The card sounded incredibly appealing, especially compared to its fee-laden peers. But there [...]

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Law and Order in the Wild West: Parsing Prepaid Regulation and Recommendations

March 16, 2012
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This has been a busy week for prepaid debit: the Senate Banking Subcommittee held a hearing on the prepaid market, and the Center for Financial Services Innovation released a model disclosure box aimed at promoting transparency. The Prepaid Card Consumer Protection Act, introduced by Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ), winds its way through the Senate; the [...]

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A Closer Look at Premium Checking

March 12, 2012
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NerdWallet’s study of big banks confirmed last week that while every big bank has a basic checking account offering (one to be exact), banks have been actively targeting the “mass affluent” with numerous higher-tier, premium account offerings. In this post, we take a closer look at these premium checking accounts at the top 5 banks to [...]

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NerdWallet Study: Want to Save Money at the Pump? Don’t Ask Your Gas Card for Help.

March 12, 2012
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Conventional wisdom has it that if you want to save money at the pump, you swear your loyalty to one station, and in return you get a better discount than if you’d just gotten a generic gas card. But this is one of those times when conventional wisdom is incorrect: based on a NerdWallet analysis [...]

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Capital One Venture Double Miles Challenge: The Fine Print Explained

March 9, 2012
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Want to find out exactly how to get the 100,000 miles promised by the Capital One Venture’s Double Miles Challenge? Does your cash back card qualify for rewards? Can you still participate if you already have the Capital One VentureOne? If you have questions about the promo, read on: the nerds have answers. Update March [...]

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NerdWallet Bank Fee Monitor: Average Big-Bank Checking Account can Cost $110 a Year

March 8, 2012
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Following the new and threatened fees from Wells Fargo and Bank of America, NerdWallet conducted a study to analyze the current state of the top 5 banks’ checking account fees and requirements by comprehensively combing through every account offered (3-8 checking accounts per bank) and the 50+ fees and requirements associated with each account. This [...]

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